Future Incarnations: Inuyasha 2030
by Ai Kisugi
Summary: COMPLETE. The Inuyasha gang have reincarnated and the year is 2030. Each person has only fleeting memories of their past lives. Can they re-group and remember their past before it is too late? Romance Lemon/Lime Inu/Kag some Mir/San
1. Chapter 1: Unwanted Company

**Future Incarnations: Inuyasha 2030**

**Setting: Tokyo 2030**

_This story is a sequel of "Silly Human Mating Rituals" (Romance/Humor). So do yourself a favor and try to read that story first. It is only 8 chapters long. Inuyasha 2030 can stand on it's own, but you'll have a much better idea as to what is happening and why if you read the prequel. Thanks for reading and please read and review if you want me to post future chapters more quickly! :-)_

**Unwanted Company**

The late afternoon sun settled around the shrine's entrance. It made the Torii gates that stood before them seem somewhat ethereal. Two young men peered past the lingering light and tried to step past the gate. Both men were somewhere between being a teenager and a man. Not quite a youth anymore, but not quite men. Their faces still had a softness to them that age hadn't yet erased. The young man who led the charge up the gate had a beautiful face that seemed mischievous and short black hair that was drawn up into a very small ponytail. His violet eyes sparkled in the setting sun. He was motioning for his friend to join him. Unfortunately his friend was pouting and was crossing his arms out in front of him. The friend was even more striking than the first man. His hair was platinum blond, in fact it almost looked silver and it was drawn up into a long ponytail that fell to his waist. His eyes were expressive and brown. He seemed to be sighing with discontent.

The first young man with short black hair seemed to be grinning with delight as he rubbed his hands together.

"Wait until you see the luscious maiden that lives on the premises," said Miroku with a sigh that was tinged with lust.

All Inuyasha could do was roll his eyes. He had lived in Miroku's household for the past twelve years and was well aware of his amorous ways. It was the only thing about his brother that he disliked.

"Come on Miroku, we have better things to do that for you to grope every available female ass you see," said Inuyasha with feigned disgust.

"Oh, well I see that on that one point we'll never see eye to eye. So many beautiful bottoms and so little time!" added Miroku with joy on his face. "And this one, Inuyasha…I think you'll like her as well. I have been trying for the past month to win her over. But alas, she has refused me!"

"So she's been slapping your face all month? Is that right bro?" said Inuyasha with a smirk. "Now Miroku let's just call it a day and go home. We don't need to be visiting shrines when your family owns a temple."

Miroku put his hand to his face. "Oh, but my temple doesn't have any lovely maidens hanging around. And I love chatting with her even if she has managed to slap me once or twice. But most of the time we exchange stories of what life is like living on Holy Grounds. She's a miko, a shrine maiden."

"What's a shrine maiden?" asked Inuyasha nonchalantly.

"Oh, Inuyasha. They are the blessed virgins who serve the Kami's. It makes them all the more irresistible to me when I know they haven't been sullied by men yet," said Miroku.

"And you intend to do the sullying?" asked Inuyasha.

Miroku could only give him a sardonic grin in reply.

By this time the duo had made it up to the front gates of the shrine. Miroku paused at the fountain out front that had bamboo cups for them to use. They fountain contained holy water that they were to drink and to wash their hands with. Once they had gone through this ritual purification they could enter the Shinto Shrine.

"Hey, Yasha…Purify yourself!" smirked Miroku as he splashed Inuyasha with water.

"Not funny Roku," glared the half-demon. Purification spells had been his bane. So he really tried his best to stay away from shrines or temples. The last thing he wanted was to be purified out of existence.

"Now if you would follow me…," said Miroku in his best business voice as he hurried up to find his prey.

"So where is she?" asked Inuyasha in disdain.

"Oh, I don't know but I am sure that she is around here somewhere…," said Miroku as turned around 360 degrees trying to find his latest flavor of the month.

Inuyasha could only see two shrine maidens on the grounds and well, they weren't even close to being gorgeous in fact if he were to describe them he would say…

"Boy, what a bunch of homely wenches this shrine has Miroku...," exclaimed Inuyasha.

"Homely wenches!?" said a woman behind them. "I see Miroku that your friend has even less tact than you do."

Life seemed to go in slow motion for Inuyasha right then. He had smelled her scent before she had even spoken. And the scent was haunting. He couldn't place it, but it was a familiar scent, it was a lovely scent….

He turned to see a gorgeous raven haired miko standing behind him in Shinto robes. Her top was a white kimono and she wore bright red hakama pants. Her long black hair was bound up in a white pony tail holder that let her hair drape seductively over her shoulders before it fell down her back. Her chocolate eyes blazed in fury. "Oh no!," he thought. He had managed to insult one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. There was only one chance to make a first impression and he had just managed to blow it.

And the more he looked at her, the more he felt that he knew her from somewhere…and the more he felt like crawling into a hole for insulting her.

"Oh my dear Lady Kagome, please don't take Inuyasha's words to heart. He can be rather…," Miroku paused while looking at the half-demon, "…tactless at times. I am so glad to be blessed with your beauty, may I…?"

"Can it Miroku!" said the miko as she stormed away.

"Oh, that was good!" said Inuyasha.

"You didn't fare much better, my friend," added Miroku slyly. "Oh my, what have we here…"

Miroku was making a bee-line for a new girl in a karate uniform who was running up to the lovely miko. Inuyasha could only sigh and follow his friend.

Miroku noticed that the new girl was very athletic looking. She still had curves, but her muscles were better defined. Her black hair was also long and tied up with a pony tail. But whereas Kagome seemed to be very feminine, this new girl had none of that softness. Still, she was beautiful. He could get lost looking into her cinnamon eyes or better yet, her shapely tush.

"Ahem, girls. May I introduce myself. I am Miroku…," said Miroku in a way of introduction.

"…a lecher…," added Kagome as Sango suppressed a giggle.

"Oh you hurt me girls…," feigned Miroku. "And this is my brother, Inuyasha…"

"Who insults women he doesn't even know…," added Kagome with a smirk.

"Hey! I'm sorry wench! If I had known that you were there…," said Inuyasha trailing off.

"You would have what? Just insulted me to my face instead of behind my back? What sort of person are you to come to my shrine and insult me?!" said Kagome with her fury rising.

"Your shrine?" asked Inuyasha.

"Yes, my family's shrine. I live here," she said without a note of civility. "Come on Sango let's catch up while I do my chores…"

Sango managed a brief wave to Miroku that he half-heartedly returned as the two went to the far end of the shrine.

"Time to head home Miroku?" asked the hanyou.

"Yes, sigh…we need to work on your manners Inuyasha… I mean homely wenches…?" said Miroku.

"Oh I know. I'm regretting it already. Can you tell me more about that girl, Kagome?" asked Inuyasha.

"Why are you interested brother?" prodded Miroku with a grin.

"Uh, well it's just like I feel that I know her from somewhere. I don't know where…she's just familiar...," said Inuyasha in confusion.

_**Author's Note:** Inuyasha is described as having brown eyes, but only because he is wearing brown tinted contacts. His real eye color is amber. Yes, and his ears are missing right now. Don't worry. They will come back! You just need to wait a few chapters…_


	2. Chapter 2: Morning Commute

**Morning Commute**

_There was a familiar woman in his dreams tonight. He couldn't place her, but she had long wavy black hair, even longer legs and she was wearing a miniskirt. Her body lunged forward and in her hand was a sword. The sword seemed familiar. "Here!" she said, "you can use this." He took the sword in his hand. It was a mangled old sword with a battered edge. Though it looked worthless, somehow he knew there was more to the sword than it's appearance. The sword pulsed as if it had a heartbeat and transformed. "The Tessaiga," he breathed. He looked at the maiden again. She turned to him and grinned a brilliant smile, which melted his heart. He had to protect her. He had to protect her because he loved her…Then he felt his demon blood rise and his mind receding. He lost himself to the demon lust. Then he sobbed with dismay to see her blood on his hands. He had injured her himself. What happened to her? Had he killed her? He screamed…_

Inuyasha awoke gasping for air. His amber eyes looked around wildly and realized that he had just been dreaming. It was only a dream. However, the hope, the love and the guilt that the dream brought him was so real. His heart was beating wildly. He turned and looked at his alarm clock. 4:30 pulsed on the wall with red laser lettering. He felt too anxious to go back to sleep, so after lying in bed pointlessly for a few minutes he decided to get up and face the day.

He lived with Miroku's family, the Moroboshi's. They had taken him in and adopted him when he was six-years-old. Normally people did not adopt children in Japan. Adoption was only seen as an option if there were no children to carry on the family name and even then it was seen as a disgrace. However, Miroku's family owned a temple and they had tried to live the Buddhist way of serving others. They felt that adoption was just another way to serve humanity. They had taken the troubled child when no one else would have him. They had given him love and a family. He had even gained a brother in the process. Miroku was his adopted brother, but he was a brother just the same.

After an early morning shower to clear the nightmare from his mind Inuyasha put on a red shirt, black jeans and slippers. He combed out his long white hair and then tied his hair in a pony tail. He then put on some brown tinted contacts to cover up his amber eyes. However, his eyes seemed dry this morning. So he took them out. He would try to put them back on later. His adopted family had decided a long time ago to mask his true nature so that he could fit in better. They had even told him that he had been born with some strange ears that had to be surgically removed when he was much younger.

He made his way to the breakfast table before anyone else was awake. He made his favorite breakfast, 'ramen'. If Inuyasha had his way he would be eating ramen morning, noon and night. It was too bad that Mrs. Moroboshi didn't see it that way. She called ramen 'fatty salty soup'. If she ever caught Inuyasha eating ramen he was sure that he would get a lecture. So since he was up early and no one else was around to criticize his choice in breakfast, ramen it would be! He enjoyed eating the ramen so much that he soon forgot his dream. The dream tucked itself away in a far corner of his mind and he found that for some reason he could no longer even remember it. That was just as well, since it had been a nightmare.

Soon Miroku joined him at the breakfast table.

"What's up Inuyasha? Did you have a nightmare again?" asked Miroku.

"Nightmare?" said Inuyasha quizzically as he slurped up more ramen.

"Yeah, you just screamed and woke me up earlier in the morning. What's eating you bro?" said Miroku.

Inuyasha paused in thought briefly as he continued to slurp his ramen. "You know I really don't remember the dream," he said nonchalantly. "I sometimes wake up in terror. But then within seconds I forget whatever it was that I was dreaming about. Something about a girl and a sword I think."

"A girl and a sword?" asked Miroku.

"So what did she look like and I guess since it was a nightmare nothing good happened with her. Am I right?" said Miroku as he arched his eyebrows.

"Can it Miroku! I told you that I can't remember it anymore. All that I can tell you is that she seemed familiar somehow. I just don't know why. I don't even really remember what she looked like," said Inuyasha as he slurped the final ramen out of his bowl.

"Do you have to eat that stuff?" asked Miroku as he looked at the empty ramen carton. "There are better things to eat."

"Nothing is as good as ramen, Miroku. Besides it is cheap and easy to make. I'll eat the stuff that is good for me when Mom makes it," said Inuyasha.

Miroku sighed as he started to eat his own breakfast of toast and green tea. "So are you heading out to the University soon? We both have 7:30AM classes to make and we still have to make it through the subway system."

"Yeah, yeah", said Inuyasha. "Just finish up and I'll walk with you there."

The Moroboshi family temple was situated in the heart of downtown Tokyo. The Moroboshi's were lucky that the temple had been passed down through the generations, otherwise there was no way the family could afford the land they currently occupied.

Once they were done with breakfast the boys grabbed their backpacks and paused outside of the temple to put on their shoes before heading out the front gate. After a few blocks they made their way to the subway and headed toward Shinjuku station. Shinjuku was the busiest subway intersection in the entire world. Over one million people would transit through this subway station in one day.

Inuyasha paused as he looked at the newspaper and book stands. He stopped momentarily to buy a manga from his favorite artist 'Rumiko Takahashi', then he headed into the maze of the underground subway system with Miroku. Once they got to their gate they waited until the magna rail train pulled in smoothly before them without a sound. The problem was that they weren't the only people trying to get somewhere in Tokyo by 7:30AM. This was rush hour and rush hour meant…

"Oh no," Inuyasha cringed. The pushers were there!

Men and women in subway uniforms and white gloves stationed themselves at the gates of the train. Once everyone got on they chanted "ich, ni, san!" and then shoved everyone into the train.

Inuyasha managed to get squished up against a woman in front of him. There was absolutely no space between them and certainly no privacy. He stood taller than her and his chest was shoved right into her face.

"I'm sorry about that, uh…" said Inuyasha as he looked down in front of him in embarrassment.

She looked familiar, but he couldn't place her at first. She had long wavy raven hair, brown eyes and creamy skin. She was wearing a sweater, a mini-skirt and had a large yellow backpack. It's too bad that they were so close together that he couldn't see her legs. She looked up at him and he caught his breath. Her chocolate brown eyes bored into him. She was very beautiful. Who was she, he knew her from somewhere…a dream maybe?

"Inuyasha! What do you think you're doing shoving into me and then staring at me?" the girl yelled.

Inuyasha was momentarily confused. The shrine! She was the miko from the shrine. He hadn't caught on quite as quickly because she had been wearing miko garb the last time he had seen her, now she was wearing regular clothes. There were also so many scents in the air that he couldn't distinguish her scent from anyone else. She was the girl he had insulted, the girl named Kagome.

He paused at her anger and then felt some anger rise up within him as well, "I didn't shove into you. Those damn pushers did it. Why would I ever want to be shoved up next to you anyway, wench!" spat Inuyasha.

Miroku sighed next to him. "We really need to work on your manners Inuyasha."

Inuyasha turned red as he saw Kagome starting to fume. "First you call me a homely wench, then you shove into me and insult me! Don't you ever get near me again you jerk!" yelled Kagome.

"I'll try not to," yelled Inuyasha as the rest of the crowded subway train heard their heated argument. "But as you can see now, I am stuck and there is nowhere that I can go."

Inuyasha had to admit that having her body pressed so close to his was actually rather fun. It was almost teetering on pleasurable, if only there weren't so many other people hemmed in on every side of him. And of course, if only the girl he was pressing in against wasn't so angry at him. Still, it was kinda fun to invade her space and press up next to her body and to then blame it on the 'pushers'.

Kagome and Inuyasha tried to ignore each other for a few minutes. It was a little difficult since her body was pressed in against his. There really wasn't any space between them.

"So," said Inuyasha after a long pause. "Where are you commuting to this morning Kagome?"

"Like you care," said Kagome in a huff.

"Just trying to make conversation since we are stuck next to each other until we get off of the train," said Inuyasha. "Miroku keeps on telling me that I need to work on my manners."

"The University, Tokyo University," said Kagome.

"Oh, so what are you studying?" he asked.

She looked up at him in confusion. Having him go from insulting to questioning within just a few minutes bordered on bizarre. Kagome said her words slowly, "I'm currently undeclared. All I know is that I want to change the world."

"Change the world?" asked Inuyasha incredulously.

"Yes, change it. I don't know if I want to change it by being a doctor or a priestess or just a social worker or... There is so much to do…But I guess you wouldn't understand," she said as her voice trailed off.

"Well, maybe I do understand. At least a little," he said as he scratched his head. "I'm studying Criminal Justice. I always felt like I needed to get in there and save people. Maybe I can do that if I become a police officer or a detective." Inuyasha was pleased that they were no longer yelling at each other and that they seemed to have some things in common. At least this was some sort of progress, albeit a small one.

They looked at each other. Her brown eyes on his amber eyes and their bodies were pressed together.

Kagome's eyes widened momentarily as she spoke, "Your eyes. They look golden. Are those real?"

Inuyasha had a canned answer for his eyes--he had been saying the same thing since he was a child. "Oh, they are just tinted contacts. I wear them sometimes…"

She looked back up at him again quizzically as if she was recognizing something just by looking into his eyes. Then she blushed and turned away.

Then the train stopped at a station and Kagome did her best to push her way out. "Hey, Kagome, wait!" called Inuyasha as he tried to grab her hand as she moved off of the train. Masses of bodies pushed between the two of them and he quickly lost her in the maze of people. He could try to sniff her out--he knew her scent now. It was wonderful, gentle scent. But there were too many scents and too many people.

He did know one thing however, she was going to Tokyo University and she wanted to change the world. Now this was progress.

**_Authors Notes:_**

_#1: Don't kill me yet for taking away Inuyasha's dog-ears. He'll get them back! I promise! Soon! I was just trying to be realistic. In today's society a plastic surgeon would be quickly brought in if a kid were to be born with dog ears. Inuyasha and Kagome were both born in 2012. So plastic surgery will be even a little more advanced than it is today._

_#2: I visited Japan for two weeks and went through Shinjuku station a number of times. It's a huge maze and crowded during rush hour. Yes, there really are pushers who cram everyone into a train by shoving them. I didn't make it up! This really happens in Japan._

_#3: Miroku's family name. Moroboshi, is from one of the main characters in Urusei Yatsura. Urusei Yatsura was the first Rumiko Takashi manga that I had ever read back in the 1980's. Surprise, surprise it has a letch named Ataru Moroboshi who can't keep his hands off of women and he's constantly being hit. Sound familiar? So I had to give them both the same last name._

_#4: I bought Inuyasha Manga volume #45 while I was in Japan at the Shinjuku subway station, so I had to have Inuyasha buy a manga there as well. I figure that since Rumiko Takahashi has been doing manga since the 1970's that she will still be writing in 2030. Or maybe Inuyasha was just picking up an old reprint?_


	3. Chapter 3: Higurashi Shrine

**Hirugashi Shrine**

Inuyasha had not seen Kagome at Tokyo University for the rest of the day. So he followed his instincts and instead of heading home, he went once more to the Hirugashi Shrine. He walked up the steep steps and glanced at the Torii posts marking the entrance to the shrine. This place seemed so familiar. He had been there yesterday, but it now seemed like it was a place out of a dream--a place hidden in mist and shadows. Momentarily his mind seemed to glimpse himself being there long ago. He was holding some koi and pigeons for a girl to cook. She was a pretty girl. She was wearing an old-fashioned school girl's uniform with a mini-skirt. And she looked like…she looked just like Kagome.

Inuyasha stopped for a second and tried to focus on the brief vision of déjà vu that had chanced upon his mind. But just as soon as it came upon him, it disappeared and he was left wondering if it had ever been real or just some delusion that he had imagined.

His first stop was at the fountain in the front of the shrine where he ritually purified himself by drinking the fountain water and pouring water over his hands. Of course, he was part-demon. He could never be truly purified without getting injured. But the silly water ceremony that he had to go through before he entered a temple or shrine never affected him.

He had hoped to catch sight of Kagome there, but there were no miko's in sight. He would probably have better luck over the weekend, when she was not at the University during the day. Still perhaps she was selling items at the shrine shop. It wouldn't hurt to look.

He glanced over at the shop curiously to see an elderly woman with short hair and Kagome's expressive eyes. She looked up at him and her eyes quickly went from a casual glance to instant recognition and shock.

"Inuyasha!?" she yelled as she ran out of the side door to the shop and ran up to him.

Inuyasha was befuddled to see this old woman who was the same height as Kagome, with gray short hair and her eyes. She had Kagome's eyes.

"My daughter! Where is my daughter! Where is Kagome, Inuyasha? Is she alive? What happened to her?" asked the elderly woman pleadingly.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha was at a loss as to why the elderly woman knew him or why she was asking about Kagome in such a fashion. "I haven't seen her since this morning when she was going to Tokyo University," said Inuyasha still perplexed. "Is there something wrong? Did something happen to Kagome?"

The elderly woman grimaced in frustration. "Not my granddaughter Kagome, I meant my daughter Kagome. She would be in her late 40's by now. What happened to her? She never returned when she left to see you last. She never returned…" the old woman wailed as she started to cry.

"Man, is everyone at this shrine crazy?" thought Inuyasha. "What in the hell is she talking about?"

Soon a man came around the corner wearing traditional Shinto priest robes. He was in his 40's and had some grey peppering of his black hair. His brown eyes and expressive face also looked like Kagome's. "Mother, is something bothering you," he said. Then the man turned and looked up at Inuyasha. "Kami!" he screamed in delight and then he ran towards Inuyasha like he was a long lost friend.

"Inuyasha! You've returned! Where's Kagome? Where's my sister?" said the man.

"You are all seriously wacked out over here!" said Inuyasha. Then he thought, "Still how did they recognize me and know my name. Oi," he thought. "Maybe this was some sort of joke on Kagome's part." It wasn't as if he could be easily recognized from a simply description of long white hair and amber eyes.

The man continued to stare at him as Inuyasha looked at him perplexed.

"What happened to your ears Inuyasha?" said the man. "What happened to your dog ears, they're gone and you have normal ears now…" The man was getting way to close to Inuyasha and was examining his ears.

"Now wait a minute…," said Inuyasha. Then he blinked. "His ears…?" He had never told Kagome or for that matter anyone past his family about how he was born with weird dog-like ears and how the surgeons had sliced them off and had re-created normal looking ears for him on the sides of his head. "How do you know about the ears I was born with, I didn't tell anyone…"

The man paused for a moment and then chuckled. He looked at the elderly woman who was his mother.

"Oh mother, we were both fooled. Doesn't he look just like him?" said the man.

"He looks just as he did 30 years ago, except for the ears," she added.

"So," the man said. "I guess what we have here is a simple matter of reincarnation at work. Wouldn't you agree mother?"

The old woman got closer to Inuyasha and peered at his eyes and ears. "Yes, I think you are right Souta. It seems that Kagome isn't the only reincarnation to show up at our shrine."

"It makes perfect sense," said Souta. "You could never keep the two of the apart—even when you were fighting! If one was going to reincarnate, then the other couldn't be far behind. It's too bad that it took this long to find you," said the man sincerely as he bowed slightly to Inuyasha.

"What in the hell are you talking about?" growled Inuyasha.

"Oh, still the same old temper and language," said Souta who was not the least bit perturbed by the foulness that radiated from Inuyasha. "Why don't I give Kagome a call and get her to come over? In the meanwhile you can come in for some tea. Why don't you close up shop early today, mother. I think we need to catch up with Inuyasha."

"Hai," said the older woman pleasantly as she turned to lock up the shop.

The man guided Inuyasha inside of their home. Again a bizarre déjà vu feeling overtook Inuyasha. He felt like he had been here before, but he still couldn't place when or how. They took off their shoes and the man offered Inuyasha some slippers.

"Stay right here!" the man said. "I have some pictures to show you."

"This better be good!" thought Inuyasha. "If it weren't for Kagome I would have already left this crazy joint."

Soon the man came inside with a laser thin laptop in one hand and a slim phone in the other. "Yes, Kagome. You are to come home at once. No buts! Now! This is really important! " there was a pause, "No, I can't tell you why. You'll find out when you get here."

"She should be here in a few minutes," said the man. "I'm sorry. I never introduced myself. I am Hirugashi Souta. But you can just call me Souta. I am Kagome's Dad."

Inuyasha was a little taken aback by the man's casualness with him. Normally people wouldn't let you address them by their first name unless you were a family member or a close friend. "Strange family," Inuyasha thought. But then his own family was rather weird as well. He was thinking briefly about the Moroboshi family and life at the temple when the elderly Mrs. Hirugashi showed up at the kitchen table.

"Inuyasha," she said with reserve and a note of fond kindness, "Would you like me to make you some ramen?"

"Ramen? Yes, it's my favorite! How did you know?" asked Inuyasha now feeling more and more uncertain about these two people who knew more than they should know about him.

"It was always your favorite," said Mrs. Hirugashi. "You would often beg Kagome to pack some for you. I will also make you some tea, you seemed to like sencha tea."

Iuyasha just sat back perplexed as the woman started to make him some ramen and poured him some tea. Souta then put the thin laptop on the table and started to boot up the razor-thin computer. "I have many pictures to show you," he said. "But we'll need to wait until Kagome gets here."

Mrs. Hirugashi put a bowl of steaming ramen and a cup of tea in front of him. She also poured three more cups so that herself, Souta and her daughter would also have tea. She then sat down and sipped the tea. After taking a sip she turned and looked at Inuyasha. Her composure was fully restored. She had gone from a wild-eyed frantic woman to a calm and serene grandmother in a matter of minutes. It was a little unsettling.

"So Inuyasha," said the grandmother. "You said that you saw Kagome on her way to Tokyo University this morning?"

"Um…yes, she said that she was an undeclared major and that she wanted to change the world," said Inuyasha.

"That's my daughter!" said Souta proudly. "And I can tell you that she has the power to do it."

Inuyasha raised his eyebrows.

"Are you also studying at Tokyo University Inuyasha or was there another reason that you ran into her this morning?" asked Mrs. Hirugashi.

Inuyasha scratched his head. "I am studying Criminal Justice at Tokyo University. I just happened to be on the same subway magna rail this morning. The pushers shoved me right into her…" He blushed momentarily at the memory.

"Oh and just as shy as he used to be," observed Mrs. Hirugashi.

"I'm not…" said Inuyasha as he pounded his fist into the table.

Souta chucked, "and just as unruly…man I missed you Inuyasha! It's good to have you back!"

"Dad! Grandma! I'm home!" called Kagome pleasantly as she took off her shoes in the hallway and put on some slippers. "Now what exactly was so important that I had to show up immediately…?" asked Kagome as she rounded the corner and stopped short when she saw Inuyasha.

"You!" she declared. "Not you again! You rude jerk!"

Souta took the disgruntled teenager by the shoulders and gently pushed her down to sit at the kitchen table. "Now, now dear…," said Souta.

"Jerk am I, at least I'm not an obnoxious wench!" said Inuyasha a little too quickly. He regretted his words almost immediately. He really wanted to be nice to her. It was just so hard when she kept on insulting him. She looked at him momentarily with a look of hurt before she grimaced at him again.

"Just like old times? Eh, Souta!" said Mrs. Hirugashi. "My, my I do declare that the two of you sound like an old married couple the way you carry on! Now will the two of you sit down and be quiet for once. Souta has a lot to tell you, I believe."

Neither Souta nor Mrs. Hirugashi were the least bit perturbed by the emotional outbursts of Kagome and Inuyasha. In fact, they seemed to be expecting it.

"Yes, now," said Souta as he turned the razor thin computer screen to Inuyasha and Kagome. "Let me show you a few pictures from 1997 and 1998. You see we lost Kagome, that is my sister Kagome, in 1998 when she was 16. We never saw her again. These are the only photos we have of her. I named my daughter Kagome, in her memory and as crazy as it seems that are almost exactly alike."

Inuyasha stared at some pictures of what looked to be the girl sitting next to him. But the date stamp of the pictures were from over 30 years ago, so it couldn't be her. Still the resemblance was uncanny. Of course, they were related by blood, but still—it seemed to be more than a coincidence .

"This is a picture of all of us together," said Souta. He quickly showed them a photo of a teenaged Kagome in the same old fashioned school uniform that he had just imagined when he had walked through the Torii gates. She stood next to a young boy who was about 6 years old, a matronly woman of thin build and short black hair and an old man wearing Shinto priest robes. "This is Kagome, that is me as a small boy, that is my Mom and there is grandpa. He passed away some years ago.

"Now this picture, I think you'll find this picture interesting…," Souta started showing him pictures of the same girl and a teenaged boy in a red suikian and hakama pants. But the most intriguing thing about the boy was not only that he looked exactly like him all the way down to the amber eyes and long white hair, but he had strange dog-like ears on the top of his head. Those ears! They could have been what his ears would have looked like if the surgeons had not surgically removed them and created new ears for him. He stared at the boy in disbelief. He noticed that the boy was also wearing a strange necklace and had an old sword by his side.

Souta went through several pictures which were dated from 1997 and 1998 on the laptop. There were not too many pictures of the girl who looked like Kagome and the boy that looked like him. But it was enough to be unnerving.

"What is this?" asked Inuyasha. "Is this some sort of a trick?"

Souta sighed and sat down. "I was hoping that showing you these photos would convince you. But perhaps there is more that I need to do and perhaps you just need some time to realize your past. Too bad…mother and I really missed you…"

"What the hell are you talking about?" demanded Inuyasha.

This time it was Mrs. Hirugashi that spoke up. "You know Souta was only 6 years old when he first met you. He idolized you. And I adored you for the simple reason that Kagome loved you."

"Loved me?" Inuyasha quickly looked up at Kagome. They both blushed vividly.

"Grandma. I am not in love with this jerk! How could you say that?" asked Kagome as she stood up and pointed a finger at Inuyasha.

Mrs. Hirugashi smiled at Souta and then spoke to Kagome. "I am not saying that 'you' are in love with Inuyasha. But my daughter Kagome and the Inuyasha from long ago were in love with each other. It was endearing to see. And it was especially endearing because they never seemed to even admit to each other that they were in love. They would fight and then make up. Then they would fight again. But they always danced around the topic of love. I wonder if they ever did admit to each other that they were in love. I hope that they did. But I will never know…," said Mrs. Hirugashi as her voice trailed off.

This was all a new experience for Inuyasha, but apparently it was something that Kagome was intimately familiar with.

"I'm sorry Grandma," she said as she stood up next to her grandmother and hugged her gently. Inuyasha was surprised to see her gentleness. He had only seen Kagome angry and upset. Her loving side seemed very sweet. He was staring at her without meaning to.

Mrs. Hirugashi patted Kagome's hand which was resting on her shoulder. "I've always wondered what happened to them. Kagome went to be with him after she graduated from middle school in 1998. She said that she needed to defeat an evil demon called Naraku. We never saw her or Inuyasha again."

Kagome seemed to nod, this was old news for her. But for Inuyasha it was crazy and at the same time seemed to scratch at the fog in his mind. The déjà vu he had been feeling earlier started to re-surface again. All of the sudden he got a quick glimpse of him holding a huge sword that glowed while he stood in the kitchen. A young boy was screaming about a cockroach and Inuyasha brought his large sword down on the little insect. Soon the entire kitchen was awash in water as the sink busted open.

Inuyasha turned around and put his hands on the sink. "Here. Did I…ever…take a sword to this sink…?" asked Inuyasha perplexed.

Souta stood up beaming. "Yes, yes Inuyasha. Maybe you remember? My sister Kagome was making you a fine dinner that night. I think that she wanted to impress you with her cooking skills while mom was sick. She had almost the entire dinner done when I called you into the kitchen to squash a cockroach that was running around. I hadn't expected you to take out your Tessaiga to kill the insect. You destroyed the entire sink! Boy, was Kagome angry that day. You had ruined the entire meal."

Inuyasha was still patting the kitchen countertop near the sink. Somehow it all seemed familiar--like an old hazy memory that had been long forgotten.

"Do you remember Inuyasha?" asked Souta.

"I…I only see flashes of things…it's not a true memory. I'm sorry," said Inuyasha.

"Well then we have to help you jog your memory," said Souta.

"Dad!" yelled Kagome. "This is ridiculous. Even if he looks like that guy you always talk about, you can't just go off and say he's a reincarnation! It's just wishful thinking on your part."

"No Kagome," said her mother. "It isn't just Souta's wishful thinking. It isn't just his appearance. It's also his mannerisms, his way of speech, the way he stands. And you Kagome. You are my daughter's exact image. You have her temper and her compassion. The sooner you both learn to accept that you are reincarnations of your earlier incarnations, then the smoother your life path will be."

She continued, "Inuyasha. Where did you get that name?"

Inuyasha paused. His name was very strange—it meant dog demon, but he had never thought twice about it.

"My father gave it to me. At least that is what my mother told me," said Inuyasha.

"So was he also a demon?" asked Mrs. Hirugashi.

"I…what do you mean a demon?" said Inuyasha.

Souta continued. "If you are Inuyasha's reincarnation, you are also most probably a hanyou. A half-demon."

Somehow Inuyasha winched when he heard 'hanyou" even though he had never heard the term before.

"Your appearance, your eyes and hair—seem to mark you as having some demon blood. So your father must be demon as well," said Souta. "What do you know of him?"

"I know...almost nothing. I don't remember his face. I only know the name my mother told me. Whether he was a demon or not, I do not know…," said Inuyasha.

"I see," said Souta. "Well, there's no delaying it. We need to give you what is rightfully yours. Or should I say that Kagome here needs to give you what is rightfully yours."

"What father? It can't be his. You found them long before any of us were born," said Kagome.

"It is his," said Souta. "They were his before and they will be his again. When I found them in the bone eater's well, I knew that I would see Inuyasha again and that we needed to return them to him."

Souta stood up and spoke to Inuyasha and Kagome, "Come with me."

Then Kagome and Inuyasha walked in measured silence as they followed Souta to a storage shed. Mrs. Hirugashi followed along behind as she watched the two people before her silently.

Souta stopped at the shed. "Kagome you know where the items are. Please get them out and return them to Inuyasha."

Kagome seemed to be fighting an inner turmoil. She didn't seem to be happy to be following her father's instructions. She made her way to the back of the storage shed and took out a long rectangular black lacquer box. She carefully brought the box up to Inuyasha and put it down in front of him as she kneeled. She first unwrapped an old sword which was enclosed by a white cloth. She took out the sword, which was sheathed in a wooden scabbard and handed it up to Inuyasha. "Here is the Tessaiga," she said.

Just as she gave him the sword he briefly had images in his mind from the dream he had that morning. He had forgotten that a girl, who looked just like Kagome had given him a sword just like this one. Then just as suddenly as the image sprang to his mind, it was gone. All that was left was a dull ache of his heart.

Inuyasha gingerly held the sword. It was disappointing to look at. It was old and battered. It had evidently seen better days, but it somehow felt right in his hands. He unsheathed the sword and looked at it's battered blade. He looked at the blade closely--his disappointment was palatable.

He sighed as Kagome brought something else out. It was a curious prayer bead necklace. There were black beads and white magatama beads. She then stood up and placed the beads around his neck. It was the same beaded necklace that he had seen in the other Inuyasha wear in the old photos. It felt right around his neck, as if the weight of the beads should always be there. Kagome then picked up the box to put it away. Inuyasha looked at the sword and fingered the necklace.

"The sword doesn't always look like that Inuyasha," said Souta. "I saw you use it before. It's a magic sword. It can transform in battle. Normally it has the appearance that you see now. But once you join in battle it will transform to a sword that is over three meters long."

Inuyasha tried to experimentally swing the sword around him. Luckily he had been taking kendo classes since he was a boy. So he tried a few experimental kata moves. However, it was still an old battered sword. He could tell by looking at it, that it was truly ancient. However, the blade was so dull and battered that it could never amount to anything in a real battle.

"A magical transforming sword. Feh," said Inuyasha. He handed it back to Kagome who took it back with a surprise on her face. "I think you're dreaming Mr. Hirugashi. This is just an old beat up sword."

Souta's eyes just gleamed. "I thought that you might think that way. It's more than what you think. Please take it. It does not belong to us."

Kagome just stood there in front of him, holding the Tessaiga. She looked so much like the girl in his dream, the one who said that he needed the sword. Here she was, giving it to him again. Somewhere deep inside, he felt a need to protect the girl in front of him. He didn't know where the feelings came from—but they were there nonetheless. He also felt instinctively that the sword would help him to protect this girl.

He sighed and he gestured to Kagome for the sword. She gave it to him again and he put it in his pants belt loop. At least this was Japan. Though it might seem a little strange to be walking around with a sword by his side, it wasn't completely strange. He would just need to tell people that it was for his kendo classes. The fact that it was so battered and dull would also do a lot to help alleviate anyone's fears that the sword was for anything other than practice.

Inuyasha looked up at Kagome and smiled. He was slightly astonished to see her smiling back at him.

Souta then spoke. "Inuyasha, I need to ask a favor of you. Could you please protect Kagome?" he asked.

"What?!" said Inuyasha and Kagome in unison.


	4. Chapter 4: The Protector

**The Protector**

Inuyasha was pacing outside of the Torii gates of the Hirugashi Shrine. He was waiting for Kagome so that he could escort her to and from the University today. He was a little nervous, so far she had shown him a coolness that bordered on dislike. The only time she had even smiled at him was when she had given him the Tessaiga. Inuyasha smiled momentarily. The sword now hung at his waist and if felt natural for it to be there.

"Now why am I here?" he thought.

He remembered the conversation that he had had with Souta and Kagome's grandmother yesterday.

_"Inuyasha, I need to ask a favor of you. Could you please protect Kagome?" Souta asked._

_Inuyasha had been incredulous. Why in the world did Kagome need to be protected in the middle of downtown Tokyo? Anyone who knew anything knew how safe the city was. You could leave a fat wallet loaded with money on a busy downtown street and would know that it would be returned to you. Sometimes there were some lawbreakers that might mug or rough up someone, but it was a rarity in this city. Overall most people felt completely safe. Tokyo was definitely not New York!_

_"It is your lifepath Inuyasha. You were born to protect Kagome," said Souta. "You always protected her and if you are to reach your destiny you must do so again."_

_"Are you out of your…," yelled Inuyasha._

_Mrs. Hirugashi interrupted. "Please Inuyasha. Souta is right. You can fight your destiny or you can accept it. Either way you will still be drawn to your lifepath. You can do this the easy way or the hard way." Then her voice softened. "But please, things have been happening at the shrine…"_

_"Grandmother!" Kagome interrupted. "I do not need any help! I'm fine on my own."_

_"What things?" asked Inuyasha. Suddenly he was worried about Kagome, though for the life of him he didn't know where the feelings were coming from._

_"We have been visited by demons," said Mrs. Hirugashi. "We have managed to ward off the attacks for now. Kagome and Souta have been putting up warding sutras all over our shrine." Inuyasha now noticed the many sutras that hung all over the place. He had seen them before, but had thought that they were only the typical prayers that you often see scattered all over a shrine. "But I worry about Kagome when she steps away from our shrine. She wants to study and we all want her to graduate from the University. But it is a little nerve wracking for us to see her go every day knowing that she has been attacked before."_

_"Attacked?" asked Inuyasha._

_"I have been fine Grandma! Nothing has happened to me so far," said Kagome as she crossed her arms._

_"Yes, my dear granddaughter. But when you start to roll the dice eventually you will come up with snake eyes. It is only a matter of time. Will you please allow your grandmother and father to find some measure of solace knowing that you have someone watching over you?" asked her grandmother._

_Kagome just stood there for a moment and then nodded, looking away from Inuyasha._

_"And Inuyasha, would you please grant a grandmother her wish to protect her one and only granddaughter? I have already lost my daughter. Please don't let that happen to my granddaughter," pleaded Mrs. Hirugashi as her wide expressive eyes looked at him._

_Inuyasha gulped. He had been cornered and there wasn't any way out of this._

So he had agreed to protect Kagome while she was away from the shrine property. He continued pacing for only a moment more before Kagome showed up at the Torii gates. She wore a green mini-skirt and a large white sweater. Her long wavy hair swayed back and forth as she walked and her legs were quite shapely. She was just as beautiful as he had remembered and he tried his best not to stare at her. Inuyasha noticed that there was a sutra attached to the back of her large yellow backpack.

"Your Dad isn't taking any chances is he?" asked Inuyasha as he pointed at the sutra.

"No he's not!" fumed Kagome. "I'm constantly being watched over. They worry so much that I don't have a life. They even make me keep this GPS cell phone with me all of the time so that they always know where I am." Kagome flipped up the cell phone at him and he noticed that she was toting a model that was usually reserved for young kids, not a young woman. "It's infuriating! I've learned self-defense and I'm really good with a bow and arrow. But they still don't trust me to be by myself."

Kagome then ripped the sutra off of her backpack.

"What are you doing?" asked Inuyasha. "Don't get rid of a sutra. It could help you."

"Oh, it's one of my father's sutras. His stuff never works anyway, but don't tell him that," Kagome then turned and started to rummage within her backpack. She took out another sutra and placed it near the top of her backpack, but it was carefully hidden.

"Well, then why are you putting that sutra on your backpack?" asked Inuyasha in confusion.

Kagome looked up at his eyes and paused for a second. She was about to say something, then paused again. "I…um…I used one of my sutras instead. I just don't have the heart to tell my Dad not one of the sutras he creates actually work. I tell him that I am helping him make sutras. But the real truth is that I'm the only one in this family who has the ability to make them. I am a miko and maybe I'm something more," said Kagome.

"Something more, something more than what?" questioned Inuyasha as he started trailed behind Kagome.

"I don't know. It's just that I can do things," she said.

"Well, things like what? What can you do?" asked Inuyasha.

"I can channel holy purification energy. I usually do it with an arrow, But sometimes I can do it will my own body if I am angry enough," said Kagome.

Inuyasha had seen her angry and the entire thought of an angry Kagome firing off purification energy at him made him a little queasy.

"Well, just don't do that to me. I'm not entirely human. That would hurt me," he said.

She turned and looked at him and gazed into his eyes again. "You seem so human. But your aura is off a little and your eyes. Your eyes are brown today. What is your real eye color, may I ask?" said Kagome with more than a hint of curiosity.

"Um…gold or amber. That is my real eye color. But my parents think that would call too much attention to me. So they have me wear brown tinted contacts. It makes life a little easier. No one has heard of a person with gold eyes," said Inuyasha.

"True. But your gold eyes—they're pretty," said Kagome with a slight blush. "I prefer your real eye color."

"Pretty?" said Inuyasha in some confusion.

Kagome just walked beside him and smiled.

"Thanks," she said.

"Thanks? For what?" said Inuyasha.

"For agreeing to protect me," she said sheepishly. "Not that I really needed any protection. But it was nice of you to help out anyway." Kagome stared straight ahead and her playful look started to harden.

"What has been going on?" asked Inuyasha. "Your grandmother said that there have been demon attacks."

"Oh, she doesn't even know all of it," said Kagome with a sigh. "I keep most of it from them. I don't want them worrying. It's bad enough that my aunt died before I was born. It has made them extra cautious with me. I don't want to give them anything else to worry about."

"You still haven't told me…," he added.

Another sigh and she put her fingers through her long wavy obsidian hair. Inuyasha was suddenly caught off guard as he watched her hair and her pretty chocolate eyes. Luckily she was so lost in thought that she never noticed that he was staring at her.

"It all started when I turned 15 years-old. Demons would show up. They were weak, shadow-like demons at first. A simple sutra would be all that I needed to ward them off or to purify them out of existence. But then they started to get more powerful. Now only my bow and arrow or a purifying bolt from me can get them to disappear," said Kagome in an off-hand manner.

"You mean that you have been warding off demon attacks for a few years now?" asked Inuyasha incredulously.

"Yes, for the past three years," she said as she stared straight ahead. "I've been fine so far. But…I…" She looked at him and stared into his eyes again. Then she turned away almost as if she was embarrassed. "I haven't told anyone what has been really going on. It's good to tell you about it, because there is no way I would tell Dad and Grandma the truth."

"You need to tell them," said Inuyasha seriously.

"What and worry them some more? What can they possibly do to help me? All they can do is keep me locked up at the Shrine all day. Trust me, it's not my idea of a good time," said Kagome.

"Better than dying," said Inuyasha with some concern. Then he sighed. "Look, I won't tell them what you told me. But you need to tell them sometime. They love you and they just want to take care of you."

Kagome looked up at him quizzically and then she smiled. "Thanks for helping to keep my secret."

Inuyasha then looked down at her huge overstuffed backpack. It must have weighed over 20 kilos. "Let me take that," he said. Soon Inuyasha was carrying two backpacks on his shoulders as they made their way to the crowded subway stations in Tokyo. And for once in his life Inuyasha felt both true belonging and purpose. All molded together and centered on the one small woman in front of him, the girl named Kagome.

_**Author's Note:** Tokyo and practically anywhere in Japan is very safe. I dropped the equivalent of a 20 bill on the floor and someone ran after me trying to get it back to me. We left items in a taxi, only to have the taxi driver frantically trying to find us to return the items to us. I was amazed at how honorable everyone was in Japan. And it is so safe there! It is not at all like New York or Los Angeles. Japan is well, a whole other country._


	5. Chapter 5: Demonic Presence

**Demonic Presence**

_The ratings for this story have been changed to reflect a minor lime in this chapter._

Tokyo University's archery squad was finishing up their afternoon practice at the range. A long queue of haystacks marked with bullseyes were laid out in front of the team. Inuyasha was watching the captain of their team, a beautiful raven-haired girl who was one of the team's best shots. Her wavy black hair was gently blowing in the wind and her chocolate brown eyes were intent on her target. He also looked at her long legs and the short skirt that she wore that was rustling in the wind. He decided that he could get used to this 'protecting' job that he had agreed to.

Kagome pulled an arrow from her quill and placed it expertly within her bow. She pulled back and brought the arrow up next to her chin. She waited patiently to see how the wind was blowing. She could always tell the wind speed by how it played with her hair. She adjusted the arrow to compensate for the wind then she brought up her bow slightly to make up for the range to the target. At thirty meters the arrow would need to fly at an arch.

Pling. Pschu. Schick. The arrow flew loose from the bow and landed perfectly in the center of the red of the bullseye.

"Wow! Nice shot Hirugashi!" yelled a brown-haired boy in appreciation. Inuyasha noticed that the boy was getting a little too close to Kagome for his comfort. The boys face dimpled up as he smiled at Kagome. Inuyasha felt a pit form in his stomach and he was starting to feel uncomfortable. Soon Inuyasha found his body traveling toward Kagome—almost by it's own volition.

"Yes, it was an excellent shot," murmured Inuyasha as he stood between Kagome and the boy. "Um, Kagome don't you need to be heading home soon?" he asked.

Kagome stared at him for a moment and then smiled at him with a puzzled look on her face. "I still have six more arrows to shoot in my quiver. I don't have to leave immediately. Why are you bored?"

Inuyasha started to scratch his head and looked a little embarrassed. "Uh, yeah, bored…" he said. "As if looking at you would get me bored," he thought as he looked at her sheepishly.

"Who is this guy?" said the boy while pointing directly into Inuyasha's chest.

Inuyasha started to growl a bit and the boy started to step back a bit.

"Inuyasha!" said Kagome in exasperation. "You are supposed to help me. Not keep me away from everyone I know." She paused briefly, "Inuyasha this is Hojo. Hojo is on the archery team with me. Hojo this is Inuyasha." Suddenly Inuyasha decided that he would be getting to Kagome's archery practice early every day.

"And exactly who is Inuyasha?" said Hojo as the boy tried to get in front of Kagome again.

Kagome sighed in exasperation. "He's a family friend, Hojo. My Dad has asked him to watch over me and I guess Inuyasha is getting a little TOO carried away with his duties…," Kagome finished as she glared at him.

"Look I'm here because of your father," Inuyasha said. "And I bet he doesn't want you hanging around anyone who might be a threat."

"A threat to whom, Inuyasha?" said Kagome. "My Dad knows him. Hojo's OK. Hojo couldn't hurt a fly."

Hojo was looking a little hurt by Kagome's comment before she spoke up. "Hojo, my Dad is worried about me. He's having Inuyasha protect me. I just wanted Inuyasha to know that you wouldn't ever harm me."

"Yeah," murmured Hojo not knowing whether he should be upset or thankful at Kagome's comment.

"Come on Kagome!" yelled Inuyasha. He grabbed her arm and tried to put her bow and arrow away in her large backpack. "At least I know why it's so big," he thought. "She has to pack a bow and quiver of arrows in it every day."

Inuyasha had managed to pull Kagome away from the archery practice. He had one of her hands gripped in his and her body was trailing behind his as he was practically running away. "Can you wait up a bit, Inuyasha?" Kagome was calling.

Hojo stood still for a moment and looked at the girl he had known ever since high school running away with a stranger that he had never seen before. He sighed and scratched his head as he went back to shooting arrows at the range. He would have to give her that gift he had bought tomorrow instead.

"Inuyasha, you can't just order me around and pull me away from everything I am doing!" yelled an exasperated Kagome.

"Uh, well, archery is boring. Can I walk you home now Kagome, please?" Inuyasha looked down at Kagome with wistful eyes.

Kagome was taken back for a second and she looked back into his eyes. "Only if you take those horrid contacts off, Inuyasha," she said as she crossed her arms.

"Oh, is that it?" said Inuyasha completely puzzled. But then he smiled. Well that is something he could easily do. "Sure!" he said befuddled. He quickly got out a contact lens case and pulled from the corners of each eye. As he gently pulled a brown contact popped out of each eye. He gingerly put them in his contact lens case and then squinted a couple of times to get used to the increased amount of light that his eyes were getting.

Kagome looked up at his golden eyes in wonderment. "Your eyes are so pretty. Why do you hide them away?" she said as she gazed right into his eyes.

Inuyasha swallowed. He really wasn't used to having her look at him that way, but he felt that he could get used to it. "Umm, my parents didn't want me to call any attention to myself. It's bad enough that my hair is…"

"Platinum blond, long and hair that any woman would die for…?" Kagome added with a smile.

"Oh, I never thought of it that way," he said as he looked away from her in embarrassment. "Here," he said as he took her backpack and they walked away from Tokyo University and towards the nearby subway station. Once they had made it into Shinjuku station Inuyasha noticed that his favorite ramen stand was open.

"Kagome!" Inuyahsa murmured in excitement. "Want to get some ramen?"

"You know I really shouldn't Inuyasha. My father wants me home before dark."

"Oh, what did you say this morning about how you have no life? Live a little Kagome!"

She paused for a brief second, lost in thought and then she turned to Inuyasha and smiled. She had such a brilliant smile. Inuyasha felt that he could get lost in it. "You're right, I need to live it up a bit. I've been too careful lately. I want some ramen and some ice cream!" she said as she gathered her hands in front of her almost as if in prayer.

"Ice cream?" asked Inuyasha as they pushed their way past the short curtain covering the front of the ramen noodle shop.

* * *

Soon Inuyasha and Kagome had eaten their fill of freshly made, homemade ramen and had managed to visit an ice cream shop.

Kagome had a scoop of green tea ice cream. Inuyasha had a scoop of chocolate.

"I can't believe you are eating green tea ice cream," said Inuyasha. "That has got to be so nasty."

"No, it's not," said Kagome as she licked the sides of the ice cream in obvious enjoyment. Inuyasha tried to not stare at her tongue as it deftly twirled around the ice cream cone. "Here, you try it!" she offered as she put the cone right in front of his nose.

"OK, I'll try it," he said. Inuyasha gingerly licked it and his face went from puzzlement to surprise to elation. "That is sooo good," he said. "Whoever thought that something that looked so green and gross could taste so good. Can I have another lick?"

"Sure," said Kagome as she offered the cone to him again only to find that he bit off a large bite. "Hey!" said Kagome. "My cone. I get a bite of yours then!" Soon they were playing musical ice cream cones and were doing their best to grab a bite off of the other person's ice cream cone. Soon their antics got the best of them and both cones ended up on the floor.

"Ha ha!," laughed Kagome as she doubled over and looked at the ice cream cones that were stuck to the floor. Inuyasha just looked forlorn as he looked at his chocolate cone dripping and melting into a gooey mess on the floor.

"It was kinda funny, wasn't it?" said Inuyasha as he started to laugh as well.

Kagome smiled in mirth as she grabbed a tissue from her purse and cleaned up the ice cream from the subway station floor.

"Thanks Inuyasha," said Kagome as she stared up at him. "I haven't had that much fun in a long time."

Inuyasha smiled as he took her hand and led her out of the subway station. It was just past sunset. The air was getting cooler and a dark haziness was settling over downtown Tokyo.

"Oh no," said Kagome. "I didn't know it was this late. I'm not supposed to be out this late."

"What do you mean Kagome. I'm here and that was just some silly rule of your Dad's," said Inuyasha.

"No, it wasn't a silly rule," Kagome grabbed her backpack from Inuyasha and pulled her bow and quiver of arrows out of it. She looked pretty funny with a bow and quiver slung over her shoulders in the middle of downtown Tokyo.

"They come out at dark Inuyasha," said Kagome as she looked around warily. "I need to get home quickly. Please follow me. I know a shortcut, this way…"

"Kagome!" Inuyasha cried as he ran to catch up with her. "What comes out at night?" he asked.

"The demons," said Kagome seriously. "They have only come out at night so far. If I can make it back to the shrine during the daylight hours, they don't bother me. But if they find me away from a sacred zone when the sun sets they attack me."

Kagome and Inuyasha were running and they had made their way between some of the larger skyscrapers in downtown Tokyo. They were in an alley when Kagome froze and motioned for Inuyasha to stop. "Get ready Inuyasha. Get out your sword. We need to stand back to back," she said.

"Why what?" asked Inuyasha in confusion.

"I sense a demonic presence, it is here…," she added with absolute certainty. They stood there for a moment, back to back. Her bow was ready and drawn. Inuyasha's sword was drawn from his scabbard and the mutilated blade flashed in the neon lights of downtown Tokyo. Even Inuyasha could feel the air getting cooler and he could now see his breath rising like fog in front of him. Then he felt the evil presence. Somewhere in the deep recesses of his soul he could perceive it. The feeling washed over Inuyasha like a terrifying, grating, ugliness that would not be ignored. Inuyasha may have been part demon, but what was coming to them was entirely evil and demonic.

He noticed shadows drifting against the walls and then they started to congeal into solid forms. Before the forms could entirely solidify Kagome shot an arrow at the first one. Her arrow was amazing. It wasn't just an arrow being shot. The arrow was a focus of all of her purifying energy. A sacred arrow of pure light and warmth erupted from Kagome's body and flew with her arrow toward the wall. Whatever the demonic presence was, it screamed as it was dissipated into dust. She readied another arrow as another demon started to solidify near her.

At the same time Inuyasha had his blade ready to strike. Instinctively he felt the need to protect the girl behind him. He suddenly felt the blade start to pulse as if it had a beating heart. He ignored the pulsing blade and then swung it at the demon in front of him that was trying to solidify. Suddenly the blade sprung to life and transformed into a large glowing blade that was taller than him. It flashed with energy. As he swung the sword in front of him all of the demons that had been trying to attack him magically evaporated with one stroke.

Then it happened all at once. Suddenly his pulsing blade and the necklace he wore both vibrated with energy and the energy pulsed into his body. He felt his ears on the sides of his face melt away and felt something forming on the top of his head. Then the memories took hold of him. In an instant that drew on like it was an eternity, the memories of his past life—over 300 years worth of thoughts—suddenly found their way back into his mind. It was like a fog had lifted. The memories had never left him; they were just clinging to some far corner of his mind and were never conscious thoughts. The clearest memory at this moment, or at least the one that he focused on was of Kagome. There were so many memories of her. They collided in his mind. Then a sweet memory of having sex with Kagome surfaced.

_She was lying there underneath him, naked and bathed in sweat. He was entering into the deep recesses of her body and they were both alive with pleasure. She was so beautiful lying there, her ebony hair splayed out on the white sheets. Her eyes were gleaming and looking up at him in love. Her mouth opened to a deep "O" of pleasure as he moved in and out of her. Her hips rocked up and down underneath him to met him every time he would thrust into her. Her warm quivering insides caressed him and then she started to scream and writhe even more. Her fingers gripped his shoulders and her nails raked against his flesh. Then when he could hold on no longer he let the tidal wave of feeling that was welled up inside of him release into her._

He shook his head briefly in order to try to focus on the scene in front of him rather than a beguiling memory from the past. He made another sweep with his glowing sword and the air crackled around him as any demon that had tried to solidify wavered and disappeared into the night.

Just as suddenly as it began he felt the evil presence leaving the area. The air started to warm again and he could no longer see his breath. It wasn't until it was over that he noticed that he was breathing heavily. He spun around quickly, "Kagome!" he yelled. "Are you alright?" as he gripped her arms.

She looked up at him in a daze with her bow and arrow still in her arms. She dropped them as she looked up at him. "Inuyasha!" she exclaimed. "Your ears!"

"My ears?" he asked as he patted the top of his head. There was something fuzzy there that had never been there before. Or at least they hadn't been there since he was born. Those very ears that the doctors had lasered off of his head had returned. He groaned inwardly. It was bad enough that he had golden eyes and silver hair in a country where everyone had black hair and brown eyes. But to have dog ears? How could he ever live it down?

Kagome walked up to him and gingerly placed her small hands on his ears. "They feel like velvet," she said with a smile. Her hands stroked his ears as she moved them up and down, feeling their warmth, the thin veins and the soft velvet of the silver hair on them.

The feeling of his ears being stroked brought back memories of sex when foreplay usually consisted of her licking and stroking his ears. "Ooohhh," he moaned. Then he felt warmth and bloodflow starting to focus near his pelvis. He was hardening under her ministrations and his memories.

"Oh damn," he said as he gently took Kagome's hands away from his ears. "Listen Kagome. I'd love nothing better than to have you stroke my ears, but let's get you back home as soon as we can. OK?" He made a point of staring directly into her eyes. He was trying his best to keep her from looking down at his pants. Luckily he was wearing briefs today and it wouldn't be quite as obvious. Though it was decidedly uncomfortable. He put his back to her as he picked up his scabbard and her bow and arrow. Then he stuffed everything into her backpack. "Owww," he said. It really hurt to bend down in a pair of tight jeans with a hard-on.

"Are you OK Inuyasha?" Kagome asked with concern.

"Oh, I'm fine…," he said. "Just got a little bruised I think. I'll be fine." "Boy that was a lie," he thought.

He then stepped in front of her with his back facing her. He bent down and put his hands behind his back.

"Get on," he said.

"Get on?" she said perplexed.

"Yeah, I can get you back quicker this way, don't you remember…?" said Inuyasha as it dawned on him that she didn't remember. He just got back three hundred years worth of memories and she didn't remember a thing.

"Remember? Remember what?" she said as she moved closer to him. Inuyasha sighed. He would just have to help her remember. He would just have to be patient again.

Once she was close enough he grabbed her and the backpack and with only a few leaps he was jumping across the buildings at night. He had never tried to do this before--at least in this lifetime. He had always walked like other humans. He knew that he could jump high, but since he had only been with other humans he had never even thought that he could do what he was doing.

Suddenly he felt so free and alive. It was as if he had been sleeping for the past eighteen years. "Wa hoo!" he yelled with Kagome nestled on his back behind his silver hair as he leaped home with her into the night.

--

_The next chapter will have a few limes and is entitled 'It's All About the Ears'. Fangirls should have a fun time with the next chapter. Hopefully I will get the next chapter written in a week or so._

_Kovia: I'm glad you liked the manga scene. Did you also catch the reference to the "Change the World" theme song in Chapter 2?_

_tokio-japan543: I didn't really think about bringing the old Kagome and Inuyasha into the future since the current ones are reincarnations. Having two people with the same soul in the same time is too weird. But, hey—Rumiko Takahashi did it with Kikyo and Kagome. So I'll think about it._


	6. Chapter 6: It's All About the Ears, Pt I

**It's All About the Ears, Part I**

_(This chapter and the next one are dedicated to every Inuyasha fangirl out there. There is some citrus ahead and the scenes are slightly more intense than the last chapter. Don't read if you can't handle it. Adults only please…)_

* * *

_He was dreaming about Kagome. The dream seemed to start when she stroked his ears with her hands. The up and down motion was seductive. Then her mouth took over as she started licking and sucking on his velvety ears. It was driving him crazy and he was growling. Her mouth then started to trail down kisses from his ears to his mouth. As her mouth was firmly planted against his she grasped his white kimono top and pushed it open and then dragged it off of his body. Her tongue then started a downward journey past his mouth and down his throat. She paused at his collarbone and kissed it gently. Then she moved down to his chest, kissing and suckling her way down to his flat abdomen. As her lips moved down, her hands started to undo his red hakama pants. She pushed them down revealing a very erect member. She continued to kiss down his stomach and started to reach the beginnings of curly silver hair. She licked and kissed her way down until she reached the part of him that was standing at attention and engorged with blood. First she trailed kisses up and down his erect shaft. Then she started to lick him like an ice cream cone. Soon she swallowed the whole of his throbbing member, letting it in and out of her mouth as she sucked it gently._

"Oh Kagome…," he moaned as Inuyasha lay somewhere between the realms of the conscious and the unconscious. "Oh Kami, please don't stop…"

It took a few seconds for him to realize that he had been dreaming or perhaps just reliving a wonderful memory of his former wife. The aftereffects of the dream still were felt on his body. His shaft was throbbing and pre-cum was moistening the top of his boxers. He looked around bewildered. He was in his room in Tokyo and the year was 2030. He had been dreaming about the past. It was too bad that it had seemed so real and so close.

"Oh man," he thought. "How am I going to even survive the day with her around now?"

He spit into each of his hands and then started to stroke himself. He let himself go back into the memory that had tantalized him as he woke up. Imagining Kagome's talented tongue over his shaft made him cum easily into his own hands. He wiped himself off with a tissue and then decided that he would take a very cold shower this morning.

Inuyasha stumbled to the common bathroom his family had. He took off his boxers and started to use the spray shower to clean himself up. While he was lathering and rising off he thought about last night. It seemed so surreal. Within the last twenty-four hours he was attacked by demons, found out he was a reincarnation, managed to get back over 300 years worth of memories and he had grown dog ears.

Inuyasha started to growl. Those damn dog-ears! How in the hell was he going to hide them from everyone? He would have to tell his family eventually. At least they knew about the strange ears that he had been born with, so hopefully they wouldn't freak out too much. But how could he hide them from the people he met day to day? He remembered that he had worn baseball caps and bandanas in the past. He decided to buy some more baseball hats today.

Then there was Kagome. Sweet, beautiful Kagome… She was driving him crazy last night while she was riding on his back as he took her home. She was constantly grabbing his ears and stroking them to her hearts content. She couldn't keep her hands off of his ears, even when he growled at her and told her to stop. Not that he really minded what she was doing. But it was turning him on sexually and he really didn't want her to know what she was doing to him. All he could do was drop her off at the shrine and quickly jump away. Otherwise she might have noticed how she was affecting him.

Suddenly he felt blood and warmth focusing on his pelvic area again. His lower half started to salute. Damn. Kagome. How was he ever going to handle her today?

* * *

_She was dreaming of the silver-haired youth with the dog ears again. She was looking at him pinned to a tree. He looked so lovely, sleeping… She had to go up to him. She looked at his beautiful face and then she couldn't help but to touch those strange and adorable dog ears. They were so puzzling. Why would a beautiful boy have dog ears? … Then she felt him carrying her on his back. His silver hair streamed around her face and his hands firmly held her thighs pressed against him. She rested her head on his shoulder and breathed in his wonderful woodsy scent. She liked how he smelled. It was so peaceful having him with her, protecting her… Then she was naked and straddling across his body. She could see his bare form underneath her and her hands stretched out in front of her to touch his hard abdomen and his firm chest. He had the body of an Adonis and she was there riding him. She leaned back as she felt his hardness inside of her, touching her in all of the right places as she rocked her body against his. She arched her back and pushed down on him more so that she could rub herself in just the right spot._

"Oh Inuyasha," she murmured. "Inuyasha…" She was barley awake and felt her warm slippery wetness between her thighs. She was all ready for sex, but there was no partner with her. As she woke up she was even more confused and desirous. She put her hand between her legs to feel wetness. She pushed her wet panties aside and decided to at least give herself some sort of relief with her fingers.

"Why, why?" she thought. She had been having dreams about a silver-haired youth ever since she could remember. But once she had actually run into Inuyasha, the doppelganger to her dreams, all of the sudden the dreams became sexual.

As she placed her hands between her legs and put two fingers inside of her she remembered how he looked. "Oh Kami," she thought. She remembered how she stroked his ears last night, how he looked at her with his golden eyes and how she had ridden on his back all of the way home. How his arms had gripped her thighs firmly against his side as she rode on his back.

Oh and the ride back. That was amazing. He took her for the ride of her life, jumping up and down from building to building until they had arrived safely at the shrine. And then he gently put her down and was off again quickly. He didn't even really say goodbye. She had wanted to thank him, but he was gone too quick and the adrenaline of the ride still had her heart beating fast. Or was it him that had her heart beating fast? She loved the way he smelled, she loved his silver hair, she loved his cute dog ears, she loved his golden eyes…

She imagined that her two fingers were actually his hard shaft plunging into her and that his lovely naked body was next to her. "Oh Kami, Kami, Inuyasha…," she cried as she tried to silence herself with a fist in her mouth and not wake up her family. Suddenly her needs had been fulfilled and she felt so silly laying there in her bed with soaked panties and warm fingers that dripped with moisture.

All she could think right now is how she was going to survive the day with Inuyasha. He was her protector and he wouldn't leave her alone even in her dreams. She groaned as she got out of bed and headed for the shower.

* * *

Kagome slowly dressed and decided that as usual she would be wearing yet another mini-skirt. Today she would be wearing a blue jean mini-skirt and one of her favorite red shirts that had long sleeves, but was cut in a nice V-neck that revealed the top swells of her breasts. She then grabbed a jean jacket to keep herself warm and managed to also lug her large yellow backpack along. Soon she was at the Torii gates to her families shrine and saw Inuyasha. Just as he had done the day before, Inuyasha was waiting for her pacing back and forth. He looked a little different today. Kagome tilted her head to the side to get a better look at him before he looked at her.

Today he wore a white kimono and black hakama pants. His sword fell at his side and he really looked like a samurai warrior of old. His silver hair was tied up in a pony tail and his wonderful ears were unfortunately covered up with a grey bandana. Kagome pouted, she really wanted to see those ears again. And perhaps, if she had the opportunity she wanted to touch them again. Maybe she could stroke those ears…? She remembered how the velvety ears felt against her fingers as she had rubbed them last night. She was itching to touch them again.

"Oi wench, what's your problem?" Inuyasha said inches from her face as she was lost in thought.

"Oh Inuyasha. I'm sorry, I was just thinking. You look very nice in your formal clothes. You look like a samurai," she said with appreciation. Then she tried to push his bandana away from his head.

Inuyasha grabbed her hand back from his head and she momentarily whimpered. "I just wanted to see them," she said in a tone of voice that was close to begging.

"Are you crazy? If someone saw them I'd be taken away as some freak of nature. I can't let anyone know. Please don't touch them again," said Inuyasha.

Kagome pouted. It was an adorable pout. Inuyasha couldn't stand it when she did that in the past. She could almost always get her way when she pouted.

"Oi wench, maybe later. Not now. We need to get to the University," said Inuyasha.

"When?"

"What do you mean when?"

"When can I see your ears again?"

"What exactly is your obsession with my ears?"

Kagome was about to mouth a reply, but then seemed to think better of it and just lugged her backpack onto her shoulders.

Inuyasha went up to her and took the large backpack from her. As he lifted the backpack onto his shoulders she smiled at him and then she gingerly placed her hand into his. They were holding hands as they walked together to the Shinjuku subway station.

* * *

Kagome was at her archery practice again. It was the end of their day at Tokyo University and Inuyasha had made sure that he got to her archery practice early this time. He needed to make sure that Hojo didn't hover too close to Kagome. After all she was his! Maybe she didn't know that she was his. It was a minor technicality, but he was going to do his best to set things straight. He needed to claim her and he needed to do it soon.

"Bro!"

Inuyasha turned around to see Miroku running toward him. Miroku was wearing a black shirt and faded jeans today.

"Where the hell have you been?" demanded Miroku. "Mom's worried. You haven't even been showing up for dinner. Then you leave early in the morning before anyone can see you."

"Oh, sorry Roku," said Inuyasha as he scratched his head. "I guess you can say that I have been distracted lately with someone."

"Someone? Who?" asked Miroku. "And why do you have your contacts off? You know Mom wouldn't like that?"

Inuyasha looked straight ahead at Kagome who was pulling back an arrow in her bow with a graceful arch. The wind was gently rustling her hair and skirt again. She was always a lovely creature to look at.

Miroku looked from Inuyasha's eyes to Kagome and then back to Inuyasha.

"The miko from the shrine? Kagome? She's the distraction?" asked Miroku.

"Yes," sighed Inuyasha. "A very big distraction. Oh, there's something I need to stop…" Inuyasha brushed on past Miroku and made his way towards Kagome. It seemed that the young man named Hojo was trying to give her something. It was a wrapped present of some sort.

"I hope that you like them Hirugashi. You said that you had trouble sleeping, so I got you some herbal teas that help you sleep," said Hojo bashfully.

Inuyasha quickly put himself between Hojo and Kagome again.

"What is your problem, Inuyasha?" breathed Kagome.

"Just doing my job!" said Inuyasha with a smirk.

"You are not to keep me away from all of my friends," said Kagome.

"Well, he might have ulterior motives. You never know with guys these days. It's best to play it safe," said Inuyasha.

"Play it safe? Guys these days? What exactly do you think Hojo is doing? He has always been a friend of mine and he is only giving me tea," she said.

"Only friends? Guys don't just give girls presents for the heck of it. I bet he wants something," said Inuyasha.

"Um…," said Hojo.

"Hojo's not that kind of guy," said Kagome. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Um…excuse me, " said Hojo.

"My mind is not in the gutter. I just know what guys think when they see a girl like you," said Inuyasha.

"Um…hello," said Hojo.

"Oh and exactly what do they think, Inuyasha?" yelled Kagome.

"That they want to go on a date with you, they want to kiss you…they want to do other things with you…," he said sheepishly avoiding her eyes.

Kagome's anger was momentarily subdued. "Go on a date? Kiss? Is that what you want Inuyasha?" said Kagome in a whisper.

"Ummm…," said Hojo.

"Yes," replied Inuyasha as he looked deeply into her deer brown eyes.

"Oh," said Kagome in surprise. She smiled for a moment.

"EXCUSE ME!" yelled Hojo.

"Oh, I'm sorry Hojo. What did you say?" asked Kagome.

"Hirugashi, I wanted to see if you wanted to go with me to a movie ," said Hojo.

"See I told you," said Inuyasha.

"Oh," said Kagome again. "Well, that is very sweet Hojo. But my father wouldn't allow it. You know how protective he is of me. He rarely lets me leave the shrine. Right now he'll only let me leave if Inuyasha or Sango accompany me."

Hojo was crestfallen. "Oh," said Hojo.

"I'm sorry, Hojo," said Kagome.

"Maybe some other time Hirugashi," said Hojo as he walked away.

"So," said Kagome as she looked into Inuyasha's eyes. "I'll agree on one condition."

"Agree to what?" asked Inuyasha.

"Going on a date with you," said Kagome.

"Date?" Suddenly a warm smile found itself plastered across his face as it dawned on him that he would finally get to officially take Kagome out on a date.

"Yes, I will only go out on a date with you if I…"

"If you can what…?" asked Inuyasha with his hands folded into his kimono sleeves.

"If I can see your ears and touch them," said Kagome as she looked up at him with a hint of deviousness in her smile.

"My ears?" said Inuyasha astonished. "Umm…but not in public," he added. "No one else can see them."

"OK, not in public," she murmured. "You have yourself a date then!" Then she looked at him with one of her brilliant smiles and Inuyasha decided that he could get lost in her smile. There were also other things of hers that he wanted to get lost in, but this was a nice start.

"Inuyasha!" yelled Miroku almost a meter away from his face.

"Oi, bro. What's your problem?" asked Inuyasha as he turned to face Miroku.

"My problem? My problem? Mom's worried sick, no one knew where you were for the past few days and you ask what my problem is?" said Miroku in a minor snit.

Inuyasha sighed again. Now that he had his memory restored he felt less and less like he had to obey the household rules of the Moroboshi household. With his memories he was actually centuries older than his own adopted parents. However, they were his adopted parents. They had shown him love and kindness when no one else wanted him. He hated to admit it, but Miroku was right.

"OK, Roku. Tell Mom that I'll be home tonight after I go on a date with Kagome," said Inuyasha.

"Date? Kagome?" Miroku was mystified. But he looked from Kagome's happy face to Inuyasha's smug look and he realized that it was true.

"Man, you lucky dog!" said Miroku. Then he grabbed Inuyasha and pulled him aside. "How exactly did you manage it? I've been trying to get her for over a month. Is there some new trick you know of that I should know about?"

Inuyasha was even more smug now. He smirked. "Oh, she just has a thing for my ears," he said.

"Your ears? She's into ears? Why didn't I think to waggle my ears in front of her?" said Miroku thoughtfully. Most people were into legs, breasts, chests or his favorite, a curvy ass. But ears? He had never heard of that one before.

They were both taken away from their talk when they heard giggles from Kagome and her friend Sango who had just made it onto the scene.

Miroku's eyes looked at Sango with her long black hair, her cinnamon eyes and her shapely athletic figure. Unlike the last time he had seen her in a karate uniform, he was now happy to see her wearing a black mini-skirt and a pink shirt that stretched nicely across her pert breasts. He then looked over her tear-dropped shaped rear-end with appreciation. The mini-skirt swelled so nicely around her ass. It seemed to kiss her every curve. Miroku quickly forgot about Kagome and decided to focus on Sango instead. Inuyasha noticed where Miroku's wandering eyes were focused and started to panic.

"Oh no, bro. You're not spoiling my date with Kagome by feeling up that girl's ass," said Inuyasha quietly. "Please show some self-control right now. I'm counting on you."

"You had to say that didn't you?" asked Miroku as he sighed. "OK. I'll behave myself. At least I'll try to behave myself. You know how my hand has a mind of it's own…"

"So ladies," said Miroku with seductive violet eyes. "I hear that Inuyasha and Kagome are going on a date. Care to go with them on a double-date Sango?"

Sango looked up and down at Miroku. He was dashingly handsome. He had violet eyes, black hair that formed a small pony-tail and the few gold earrings that made her think that he looked like a pirate. His black T-Shirt also stretched out nicely against his abs. She decided that he was wonderful eye candy.

"Who said you could join us?" whispered Inuyasha to Miroku in feint anger.

"Date? Kagome, your Dad will let you go on a date?" yelped Sango.

"Only with Inuyasha," said Kagome. "My Dad love s the guy. Figures…" Kagome looked at Inuyasha with unabashed appreciation as she said it.

"So you can go out? Wow! I have got to see this! Your Dad never lets you go out on dates. OK, Miroku? That's your name right? You're on!" said Sango. "Um…so where are we going to?"

Inuyasha buried his face in his hand. He had finally convinced Kagome to go on a date with him and now there would be extra company. He would have to do something else to get the girl alone with him.

_**To be continued with 'It's All About the Ears, Part II'.** It was all going to be in one chapter, but there was just too much to cover. In the next chapter there will be a double date, I promise at least one kiss and I also promise there will also be a focus again on someone's 'ears'. I mean, it is all about the ears isn't it…? See you again in a week. Please review if you want the next chapter posted more quickly._

_**Authors Note**:_

_#1: It is common in Japan for kids to stay living with their parents until they marry (and even then they sometimes still live with their parents in a multi-generational home). That is why Kagome, Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango still live at home even though they are all in college._

_#2: If you are wondering when Kikyo is going to show up, well don't wonder anymore-- she won't! Kikyo and Kagome have the same soul. In this story Kagome is simply the third incarnation. So Kagome is Kikyo and vica versa. The way I am writing the story is that she is 10 percent Kikyo and 90 percent Kagome. You might note in the first few chapters when Kagome is acting a little cold, that she is acting more like Kikyo than Kagome._

_**Big thanks to the following reviewers:**_

_Kovia: Thanks a bunch! You are my most supportive reviewer with 3 reviews! OK nix the idea of having the Inuyasha and Kagome from the past showing up… :-)_

_Hinakia: Thanks a bunch for your warm thoughts._

_Sofiakalaughable: I'm very happy that you like this story and Silly Human Mating Rituals. That story has a soft spot in my heart as well._

_Tori Rex: Glad you are happy that the ears are back. :-) What would an Inuyasha story be without them? I'm telling you…and the fangirls would kill me!_


	7. Chapter 7: It's All About the Ears, Pt 2

* * *

**It's All About the Ears, Part II**

The gang had eventually made their way to New Tokyo Tower for their double-date. The New Tower was a silver lattice structure built in 2010 and based on the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It was a taller than any other building in downtown Tokyo and it was also swarming with tourists.

Kagome and Sango were both looking at the wonderful view of Tokyo's bay that you could see from the viewing platform halfway up the tower. They were pointing to the nearby single suspension bridge called the rainbow bridge. Sango was bending over to look into the telescopic viewer. Her black mini-skirt was hugging her round bottom and the tops of her thighs were revealed as she leaned over. Miroku's hand was itching to touch her ass. The two egg shaped parts of her bottom were joined together so nicely under her mini-skirt. He really couldn't help but to want to fondle them. His hand was twitching uncontrollably as it moved closer and closer to it's desired goal.

"Don't even think it," muttered Inuyasha as he deftly took Miroku's wandering hand and pinched it painfully.

"Owww!" yelped Miroku. "You didn't have to do that!"

"Did I? I'm doing my best to keep you from ruining my date. A date that I didn't ask you to go on," said Inuyasha with little humor.

"Oh, please have some sympathy for your brother. I just found a wonderful looking ass and you're keeping me from it," winched Miroku.

"I told you to control yourself, Roku. No hentai is going to ruin my date," said Inuyasha under his breath.

Miroku was going to say something, but he thought better of it. Then he noticed the strange grey bandanna that Inuyasha was sporting today.

"So bro," said Miroku. "Since Kagome has a thing for your ears. How come you have them covered up?"

Inuyasha sighed. "If I was showing them she'd be all over them."

Miroku grinned lecherously. Kagome all over Inuyasha's ears? Oh, now that would be a sight that he would even pay to see. Miroku grabbed the bandanna and pulled it off of Inuyasha's head.

"Hey Kag…," Miroku was about to say but then it all happened too quickly…

Miroku could see two triangular silver ears on top of Inuyasha's head as the bandanna dropped away. Miroku fell to the ground--his butt hitting the floor and his eyes wide open in amazement.

"Oh my God Inuyasha. What is that? What happened to your ears?" yelped Miroku as he stared at his brother's new ears that were twitching side to side from the top of his head.

Inuyasha grabbed the grey bandanna and quickly wrapped it back around his head. "Don't you ever do that again!" he barked. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" A couple of other tourists murmured as the argument continued, but luckily no one seemed to have noticed the dog ears that had momentarily appeared.

"You, you…you have dog ears on your head…?" asked Miroku. "And Kagome can't get enough of them? What sort of kinky person is Kagome…?" Miroku then sported a shit eaten grin on his face. "Man, Yasha. She's really into your ears? I wonder what other funky stuff she's into…Man, she's gotta be fun in bed."

"You stinking, perverted…," said Inuyasha as he managed to pummel Miroku to the floor. By this time both Sango and Kagome were running to the boys to find out what had happened.

"Sango, get Miroku away from me before I strangle my own brother!" yelled Inuyasha.

Miroku just couldn't help but grinning. He hadn't quite planned it this way, but he had managed to get exactly what he wanted. He had wanted to be right next to Sango and her luscious bottom without Inuyasha stopping him from caressing her lovely ass. In the end the pain had been worth it. Now he'd just have to find out later as to why Inuyasha's dog ears had mysteriously grown back on top of his head.

Sango had bent down to help Miroku up. She had even placed her arm around him in order to help lift him up. His arm was just way too close to where he wanted to touch. Miroku's arm started to twitch ever closer to its target without Sango being the least bit aware of the proceedings. "Don't even think about it Miroku," said Inuyasha as he walked away from them with Kagome.

"Um, right," said Miroku as his hand was momentarily delayed from finding some satisfaction.

"What was that all about?" asked Kagome as she looked up at the blushing and flustered Inuyasha.

"Miroku thought it would be funny to pull off my bandanna," said Inuyasha.

"Oh," said Kagome as she looked up at the bandanna he was sporting. "I'm sorry. But I know how he feels."

"What!" yelled Inuyasha almost in hysterics.

Kagome was taken aback and was trying to explain herself. "I mean, I know how he feels when he wants to rip that bandanna right off of your head. I know that I want to. You have the most lovely, silver, velvety ears Inuyasha. And your eyes…" Kagome turned to look up at his eyes. Inuyasha could see himself reflected in her own deer brown eyes and he had to pause to catch his breath. "Your beautiful golden eyes…I'm glad that you don't have them hidden behind those horrible contacts today…I love to look at them…"

"Kagome?" asked Inuyasha as he stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.

"Yes, Inuyasha…," said Kagome as her face moved closer to his and started to close her eyes.

"Hentai!" Slap!

Kagome and Inuyasha's reverie was quickly dashed as they heard Sango's cursing and Miroku's whimpering.

Inuyasha looked back down at Kagome again. "I guess the letch finally got to grope her," said Inuyasha almost laughing.

"Did I ever tell you that Sango has a black belt in Ninjitsu?" said Kagome grinning deviously. Inuyasha smirked and laughed again. Kagome laughed and smiled up at him again with a blush now on her cheeks.

Inuyasha took Kagome next to him and held her waist. He smiled at her and looked into her eyes again as he moved his face next to hers. Gingerly, with his hand cupping her cheek he planted his lips onto hers, after lingering momentarily he pulled away to look at her eyes. Kagome whimpered at the loss of his lips as she looked back at him with a pout and then leaned forward towards his lips. This time their lips met again in earnest and slowly their mouths opened to allow further exploration. They probed each other tentatively and Kagome's arms started to wrap around Inuyasha as well. Their bodies were pressed closer together, just as their lips were. Soon they were lost to the world and the many tourists that surrounded them.

"Kami! It had been so long," Inuyasha thought. He had really missed her. He missed her touch. He missed her kiss. He really missed having sex with her… "Oh well, that will have to wait," he thought as his mouth was not about to let up on his desire to claim her mouth as readily as possible.

"Get a room you two!" said Miroku in irritation as he rubbed his face that was sporting a red welt in the shape of a hand. Sango was standing beside him with her arms crossed and a look of utter dismay on her face.

Inuyasha regretfully broke contact with Kagome's lips. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't pound you into the ground," said Inuyasha as he looked at Miroku.

"You wouldn't do that to your brother would you?" asked Miroku as he started to slide behind Sango.

Miroku yelped as Inuyasha ran after him and tried to hit him on the head.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Say, Sango…I'm hungry. Want to check out that crepe shop downstairs?"

Sango smiled wryly as she looked as Inuyasha hit Miroku right on the head. "Sure Kags, let's see if the guys even notice that we're gone."

"Oh, somehow I think they'll notice…," said Kagome as they made their way to the elevator. "Boys, are you coming…?"she called out with a grin.

Inuyasha looked at them in befuddlement as his attention was quickly jerked away from Miroku to see Kagome walking away from him and getting into an elevator.

"See you at the Crepery, boys," said Sango as the elevator door closed on them leaving the boys behind on the observation deck.

"You are so dead Roku," said Inuyasha as he cracked his knuckles.

Miroku yelped and after seeing Inuyasha's claws so near his face he decided to reason with his brother. "Don't you think it would be best to follow them downstairs before another man decides to follow them?"

"Keh!" Inuyasha quickly dashed to the elevators and Miroku was fast behind.

By the time they had made it downstairs and past the swarming tourist crowds they finally found the two gorgeous girls with long black hair waiting for them at the Crepery restaurant sitting at a table for four. Both girls were wearing mini-skirts and had long legs that stretched out from under the table. Inuyasha felt that perhaps too much of Kagome's figure was showing and was wondering if other males were noticing her. He growled a little as he made his way to the table.

Sango started to speak, "I can't believe you two. Fighting like children," she said as she crossed her arms.

"Oh we're brothers, what do you expect?" said Miroku as he grinned sardonically at Sango. Then he started to notice a few more things about her. He had been so focused on her lovely ass that he really hadn't noticed how beautiful her cinnamon eyes were or how her face could make an adorable pout when she was angry. He was suddenly staring at her.

"What's your problem Miroku?" said Sango glared at him. "More hentai thoughts?"

"No, my dear Sango," he said as he gently lifted up her hand and kissed it. This gesture brought out a gasp of embarrassment from Sango and her face started to flush. "I was just amazed by the beauty here at the table."

"He's good," whispered Kagome to Inuyasha. "Too bad that he can't keep his hands to himself."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and then looked at the menus. He really wanted some ramen, not this silly, prissy, girly food that had whipped cream all over it. He thought that maybe he could talk Kagome into another ramen bar after this. "Ramen he thought. Almost as good as…," he couldn't help it he looked at… "Kagome…," he thought. He looked over at her bashfully and tried not to think about the wonderful dream about Kagome that he had this morning. "Oh Kami," he thought as his body quickly responded to the sexual thoughts flowing through his mind. Luckily he was wearing hakama pants, so as his lower half started to expand, at least it wasn't very noticeable.

"What are you going to have Inuyasha?" asked Kagome.

"There's no ramen here…," he whimpered in complaint as he pouted.

Kagome decided that he looked too cute with his pout and rewarded him with a quick peck on the cheek. This in turn had Inuyasha smiling enough to actually think about ordering one of those girly crepes.

Miroku could only stare at Sango some more. He thought briefly about how pretty she was, but then shook his head and tried to think of other women. After all, he was Miroku. There really couldn't be just one woman who could ever satisfy him. A woman was like a sweet at a candy shop. How could you stop at just one? But then his eyes drifted to Sango again, unless that candy was so sweet and luscious that you never noticed the other candy. He sighed at her blissfully. The object of his affection only started to blush beet red and asked him to stop it. Miroku hadn't even noticed that he had been staring at her. He was so flustered that he tried to change the focus of attention away from him.

Miroku looked at Inuyasha and Kagome in front of him. The two of them were oblivious to the world. Both had a light pink blush that flowed from one cheek to another and a faraway look in their eyes. Inuyasha and Kagome were looking at each other warmly as if no one else in the world existed. Miroku looked from Inuyasha's eyes to Kagome's eyes. "Oh Gods!" he thought. "Inuyasha's in love!"

Now that was a revelation! Inuyasha was not the sort of person to fall in love or to EVER display a sort of sentimentality that was called love. He was just a little too self-centered for that. "Still," Miroku figured, "this could be really good for Inuyasha. It might help him get his head out of his ass."

"Speaking of ass…," he thought as he stared at Sango again and gave her a grin.

"Cut it out with your hentai thoughts Miroku. I can tell what you are thinking just by looking at your eyes," said Sango as she buried her face in her menu again.

"Me? Hentai?" said Miroku in abject amazement. "Oh, you wound me woman." Then he turned to Inuyasha and Kagome.

"OK you two. Fess up. When did this happen?" asked Miroku.

"When did what happen?" said Inuyasha in annoyance because his attention from the lovely Kagome had been broken.

"The two of you…you guys can't seem to stop staring at each other. Now the last time I saw the two of you together you were arguing. So how did you go from yelling at each other to lovey-dovey eyes?" asked Miroku as he batted his eyes innocently. He also noticed that Sango was getting interested in the conversation as well.

"Keh. I am not making lovey-dovey eyes Miroku," said Inuyasha as he folded his arms into his kimono and turned his eyes away from Kagome momentarily.

"Well," said Kagome. "Inuyasha knows my father and my father asked him to help protect me."

Sango butted in. "Wait your Dad actually trusts someone other than me to protect you?" said Sango. "Wow! He must really like and respect Inuyasha."

Kagome blushed. "Yes, but I like him, too," said Kagome.

Inuyasha had been brooding with his hands in his sleeves, but all of the sudden a smile peeked out of the sides of his mouth.

"Protect you? Protect you from what?" asked Miroku.

Both Sango and Inuyasha looked at Miroku as if there was no way to answer his question.

"Sorry Miroku. You wouldn't believe it even if I told you," said Inuyasha with all undue seriousness.

"Try me," said Miroku.

Sango responded, "Oh, demons follow Kagome around and attack her if she's not at a holy site."

"Yeah, OK," said Miroku. "Tell me the truth. Is she in trouble with the Yakuza or something?"

"I told ya," said Inuyasha as he smiled back at him with a smirk.

Soon the two couples had ordered their food. The girls ordered crepes with mounds of whipped cream. The boys decided their manhood would be on the line if they ordered a crepe and finding nothing other than sweets on the menu, managed to order ice cream. After their snack the couples just sat and talked. They enjoyed each other company and even Miroku managed to not grope Sango for the rest of their time there. Suddenly Kagome startled and grabbed Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha we need to get back soon. The sun is starting to set!" she said in a gasp.

Immediately there was tension at the table as both Sango and Inuyasha started to look at Kagome grimly. Miroku could only look at everyone baffled.

"What's so worrisome about a sunset?!" Miroku asked.

"Can it Miroku," said Sango. "We need to get Kagome home quick."

"I can do it, "said Inuyasha. "Come with me Kagome. I'll give you another ride. OK? We can probably get back to the shrine in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes? How?" asked Sango.

"You tell her Roku," said Inuyasha as he grabbed Kagome's hand and her silly large backpack and made his way out of the restaurant.

"Tell me what?" asked Sango as she watched them leave.

"Oh my brother. Well, he's something else," said Miroku as he eyed Sango's luscious curvy bottom. "He uh…" All of the sudden Miroku's hands couldn't be controlled anymore.

"Hentai!" Slap!

"Oh, that was so worth it," said a trembling Miroku who was left by himself plastered to the floor of the restaurant.

* * *

Inuyasha bent down in front of Kagome and motioned her to get onto his back. She was grinning from ear to ear this time. She was really starting to enjoy their excursions as she rode on his back, jumping from building to building in downtown Tokyo. It was thrilling. Whether it was from the excitement of being up so high or just the feel of his hands holding her pressed against him, she didn't know or care. It was simply wonderful.

By the time they had made it past the Hirugashi Torii gates, Inuyasha kissed her one last time and was about to leave.

"Oh no you don't," said Kagome as she furrowed her brows and grabbed the back of his white kimono. "You owe me something."

"Owe you? Owe you what wench?" said Inuyasha in confusion.

"The ears…we had a deal remember?" said Kagome.

"Oi, yeah. But not in public. Is there someplace around here where we can hide?" said Inuyasha surreptitiously.

Kagome grabbed his hand and led him to the back of the shrine and pulled him behind the Goshinboku, the God Tree. She pushed him against the tree and arched her eyebrows.

"It's coming off right now," she said as she grabbed his bandanna and pulled it off.

With the grey bandanna in her hands she looked up at two triangular silver ears that twitched and flickered as if in confusion. She sighed happily. Then she moved her hands up to touch them and then a brief memory hit her.

She spoke softly, "A lovely boy, pinned to a tree. He had dog ears. I wanted to touch them. I…," said Kagome as she looked up at Inuyasha mesmerized.

"You, you're remembering," said Inuyasha. "Do you remember anything else?"

She looked up at him with hopeless confusion. "There was an arrow. Right here," she said as she pointed to his heart. "The arrow was pinning him to the tree…the boy…," she stopped and looked at Inuyasha her eyes widening in realization. "The boy, the boy was you…the boy was you Inuyasha. Why were you pinned to a tree Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha could only smile and stroke her cheek as her foggy memory washed over her mind. "I was under a spell--a spell that you broke. Do you remember what happened next?"

"Caught up…caught up with a monster wrapped around us. It was choking me. You asked me to pull out the arrow. I pulled it out. You were free. The jewel. The jewel was within me. You wanted it. You attacked me?!"

Kagome was really angry now. "Why did you attack me Inuyasha? What did I do to you?" she said with tears running down her face.

"Koibito," said Inuyasha soothingly. "What happened next? Go on…"

"A necklace. Your necklace," she said as she looked at the prayer bead necklace that he was wearing. "It stopped you. All I had to say was…"

"Stop!" said Inuyasha as he put his fingers to her lips. "You really don't have to say it right now. What happened then?"

Thousands of memories swarmed within her mind then. She saw Sango, Miroku, Kikyo the undead priestess, Koga, Sesshomaru and the evil half-demon Naraku. But mainly she was seeing Inuyasha and every time she saw him in her mind her heart ached.

"You were in love with someone else…" she said numbly. "I was so sad."

"Oi Kagome, I had always loved you. Both you and Kikyo shared the same soul. I was so confused. At least in this lifetime you are both together in the same body," he looked down into her eyes again. "Do you remember anything else?"

Kagome looked up at him and tried to go back into her clouded memories. "A wedding. We got married Inuyasha! We were married!" her face held a look of joy and surprise as she remembered. "And we, and we uh…"

Kagome was a virgin, so having the sexual memories swarming in her mind were overwhelming. She was imagining herself doing things with Inuyasha that were not only exciting and titillating. But unfortunately they were things that she really had never imagined doing before. "I did that?" she thought. "And I thought Miroku was a pervert."

Inuyasha paused thoughtfully as he saw her turn beet red. "Yes, we made love for over 300 years Kagome," finished Inuyasha. She was blushing furiously as he said that. "And do you remember our pups?" he asked.

"Pups? You mean children?" she asked herself. Then it dawned on her. Little kids with small dog-like ears. Their children... They had had children. "I see so many different kids at different ages. They all have small dog-like ears. How many kids did we have?" asked Kagome.

"Twelve," said Inuyasha quietly and without hesitation.

"Twelve?!" exclaimed Kagome in shock.

"Oh, it was over 300 years. After our first child, Keiko, we started to only have sex when you were in heat if we wanted children. We did other things while you were in heat," said Inuyasha his own face looking somewhat lustful from the wonderful memories. "We would have a few kids and let them grow up and then when we missed having kids at home we started over again. It was wonderful to live with you Kagome," said Inuyasha as he looked into her chocolate brown orbs again and kissed her gently and passionately on her lips.

When they parted Kagome did what she had wanted to do all day. She stroked the velvety softness of his ears again. The feeling lulled Inuyasha into a stupor of absolute pleasure.

"Do you know how screwed up I am Inuyasha?" said Kagome in confession as she played with his ears and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Ummm..screwed up? How?" he murmured lazily as he leaned against the tree reveling in her touch.

Kagome tried to explain, "Ever since I was a child I have had dreams and fantasies about a boy with silver hair…" She then started to stroke his silver hair. "and golden eyes…" She looked up at him longingly as she looked into his golden eyes. "…and beautiful silver dog ears." She started to stroke his dog ears again. "Do you know how many times I have tried to go out on dates and I could only imagine how I wished that they looked like the vision I had in my mind? Do you know how many times I have tried to make out with a guy, only to be thwarted by a vision of a silver-haired dog eared youth? I couldn't even get turned on unless I was imagining YOU!" she said with frustration and longing. "I'll never be able to be with anyone but you. Please let me…"

"Let you do what?" asked Inuyasha.

She smiled and had him lean his head forward so that she could stroke his ears again. But then she got a little bolder and started to lick and suck on them gently.

He moaned and growled softly. Inuyasha suddenly took in another intake of breath. Did she know what that did to him? This used to be the way she had started foreplay. He gulped as his penis responded happily.

Suddenly Kagome was overwhelmed with feeling. "I really missed you Inuyasha," she said. Warm, happy tears started to stream down her face.

"Oi wench! What's wrong? Why are you crying?" said a startled Inuyasha.

"I don't know. I…I'm just happy that I am with you again," she said.

Her kisses then made their way down his face and like a magnet her mouth sealed up his in a fevered kiss. Happy, salty tears merged with the kiss. Kagome smiled up at Inuyasha to reassure him. He wiped her tears away as she continued to kiss him passionately as if there was nothing else in the world that mattered except him. Inuyasha could do nothing but comply with the sudden emotions that she seemed to be expressing.

Soon her body was pressing against his and the God tree. Inuyasha could feel her soft breasts pressed up against his hard chest, he could feel her heart beating against his, he could feel her warm breath on his face and her warm, wet lips against his. He was sandwiched between the tree and Kagome and he decided that he really didn't want to ever be anywhere else. "This was heaven," he thought.

"Kagome, Kagome!" Someone was calling out for Kagome.

Inuyasha cursed as Kagome pulled away from him and her wonderful soft body was no longer pressed against his. The lack of her warmth made him realize how much he had craved it.

"Grandma?" asked Kagome.

Mrs. Hirugashi walked up to them slowly and bowed to Inuyasha. "Ah, I am glad that you are both here. I was worried since it was after dark. The next time you come home and stay here after dark, please check in on me first so that I am not worried. You know how worried I get Kagome."

Then Mrs. Hirugashi looked at Inuyasha and her eyes widened into saucers. "Your ears!" she exclaimed. "They're back! How did you get them back?"

Inuyasha looked up and tried to see his ears that seemed to be twitching in annoyance. "Oi. Mrs. Hirugashi. I guess that I need to talk to you and Souta. I have a lot to tell you."

_**Author's Note:**_

_#1: Man, I am having way too much fun writing Miroku. I'm busting up laughing to myself when I write his lines. Kagome and Inuyasha are still my favorite characters, but for comic relief Miroku is the best!_

_#2: Miroku would normally be the wisest member of the party. But remember that Inuyasha has over 300 years of memories residing in his head now. So for probably the first time in his relationship with Miroku, Inuyasha sometimes has the upper hand when it comes to wisdom. Miroku is still smarter than everyone else. But Inuyasha has everyone beat right now when it comes to wisdom! So sorry if anyone thinks Inuyasha is out of character. I wanted to explain why he is acting a little differently from the anime/manga._

_#3: Do a Google search for "New Tokyo Tower" to see where the gang had their double-date._

_#4: I have this entire storyline outlined now and I know exactly where everything is going. However, I don't know how many chapters this will be yet. So far I have just started to develop the main characters, had the requisite fluff/citrus and you have only the slightest hint as to what evil is lurking. Some of the main plot elements are going to start to take shape in the next chapter. When we get close to the end I'll let you know._

_See you again next week. Read and review if you want me to post sooner._

_**Big Thanks to the following reviwers:**  
Sofiakalaughable: Gosh, thanks. This story and Silly Human mating Rituals are my only Inuyasha projects right now. I'm writing two other books on the side (non-Inuyasha related). So I think this story is enough to keep me busy for now. We'll see if I come up with any more ideas or not…I'll keep you posted.  
tokio-japan543: Nope no Kikyo. In this story Kikyo and Kagome are the same reincarnated soul.  
Kovia: Yes, Inuyasha would love to have some sex with Kagome. But he knows enough to wait and be patient. We'll have a lemon later.__  
Purple-Converse-AllStar: Yeah, I completely agree. The Kikyo-Inuyasha-Kagome love triangle can get annoying. I just wanted Kags and Yasha to be happy. As for some good fanfict, try the following authors: eien-no-basho (What an awesome story!), fallenangel7583 (Shades of Grey and Curse of the Dragon are both good), Roxotaku (for X Rated giggles), Dinamight23 (Insatible has me hooked), Neisha (Wow! What a writer!) and knittingknots (for nice mature writing about Inu/Kags).  
Blackdeathmessenger: Keep reading and you'll find out! :-)  
_


	8. Chapter 8: Questions and Answers

**Questions and Answers**

Souta, Mrs. Hirugashi, Kagome and Inuyasha were sitting at the kitchen table. The night was late and everyone looked very tired as they sipped their green tea.

"I see," said Souta.

Mrs. Hirugashi was crying. "I never knew," she said as she wiped away the only tears that Inuyasha had ever seen her shed. "I had always hoped. I just never knew…," She paused momentarily. "I am so glad that you married Kagome and took care of her, Inuyasha." She took a deep breath and quickly composed herself. The only evidence that she had been crying were her puffy eyes.

"Keh. Of course I would take care of her," muttered Inuyasha in feigned annoyance. "What else would I do?" He crossed her arms in front of him and then hid them inside of his kimono sleeves. He couldn't help but notice that Kagome smiled faintly at him and all of the sudden—despite his best efforts to the contrary—a small smile started to peek up the sides of his mouth.

Inuyasha then stood up and huffed a little before he looked at Souta. "Can I talk to you alone Souta?" he asked.

Souta had a knowing smile. "Of course, Inuyasha. Will you please excuse us mother and Kagome?" he asked as he led Inuyasha away to the family room.

"But…," said Kagome.

"Ah, granddaughter. I need your help with tonight's dishes. Please come over here and help me," Mrs. Hirugashi smiled as Kagome's face lingered after the man with the silver hair who walked out of the kitchen.

* * *

"So, Inuyasha. What do you want to talk to me about?" asked Souta.

Inuyasha fidgeted and put his arms back into his kimono sleeves again. "Keh…Um…"

"Does it have something to do with Kagome?" asked Souta who was wearing a look of complete seriousness that might have briefly changed into a smile if the moment was right.

"Oi. She, that is Kagome, that is I…I would like…," stammered Inuyasha.

"You would like…?" asked Souta trying to be helpful.

"Iwouldliketoaskforherhand," muttered Inuyasha quickly.

"Her hand? You mean in marriage?" asked Souta.

Inuyasha looked away from Souta and could only mutter, "Oi"

"Well, my boy," said Souta seriously. "How will you take care of my daughter? Do you have a job? Where will you live after the marriage? Do you have a ring?"

Inuyasha turned to look at Souta with a look of sheer panic on his face. "I didn't have to worry about those things the first time I married her? Why do I now? I'll do whatever you want. Just please let me marry her," he asked and pleaded.

"How old are you Inuyasha?" asked Souta.

Inuyasha could see where this was going. "I'm eighteen. But I was sixteen the first time I married Kagome. I don't see why this is relevant anymore. Humans in this time period are so silly. Waiting so long to get married. I married her once already. I just…I just want to marry her again--in this lifetime. I want to be with her again Souta. I need her. Now that I know she's here I don't think that I could live without her."

"And does she return your affections?" asked Souta with a knowing smile.

Inuyasha scratched his head and smiled momentarily. "Oi"

"Alright then," said Souta. "Come with me." Souta motioned Inuyasha to follow him up the stairs to a bedroom at the end of the hall. Once inside the room Souta pulled out a small box and handed it to Inuyasha. "This was the engagement ring that I gave my wife, Michiko. I replaced it with the wedding ring when we were married. My wife kept it here, for sentimental purposes. Perhaps you could use it?"

Inuyasha opened the box and saw a small gold band with tiny diamonds running along the length of the band. The entire band sparkled in the light as Inuyasha turned it in his palm. "Thank you Souta," murmured Inuyasha.

"Now the final question is where are you going to live after you both get married?" said Souta as he posed the question to the air. "Where do you live now and would Kagome live there or here?"

"I'm adopted Souta. My parents have been wonderful to me. But they have a son, Miroku, who will inherit their temple," said Inuyasha.

"Temple?" asked Souta.

"Yes. I have been raised at the Moroboshi Buddhist Temple since I was six years old. But the succession of Buddhist monks always follows from father to the first born son and that will fall to, Miroku. Not me their adopted son," added Inuyasha.

"I see," said Souta. "Then you would not mind living with us?" asked Souta.

"I can…? I mean, you'll let me?" asked Inuyasha in astonishment.

"Well, Kagome is my only heir for this Shrine. If she leaves, then the Hirugashi Shrine will no longer be in our family's hands. She is a capable miko and I had always hoped that she would continue to run our Shrine. I just find it a little curious. A miko and a half-demon running a shrine!" Souta smiled so that Inuyasha would know that he was only joking.

"Did you not say that you lived right next to the Goshinboku tree in your time with Kagome? Perhaps you are simply meant to live here." Souta looked up at him warmly. "You have my blessings Inuyasha. The rest is up to you."

Inuyasha gripped the small ring in his hand. Now if he could only find the right moment to propose to her again.

* * *

_**Next Day, Tokyo University**_

Hojo was staying after class today in the science lab to finish his Chemistry experiment. He stood next to rows and rows of stainless steel counters and lab equipment. Except for Hojo and his lab partner, Eri, no one else was in the lab.

"Goodbye Hojo," said Eri as she grabbed her backpack and headed out the door. "Don't stay here too late. Remember we have archery practice in an hour."

"Oh, OK. I'll be there. I just need to finish this experiment. Don't wait up for me," he said with a sun-shine smile on his face.

"OK, See ya," she said as she left and the room became vacant.

Hojo finished his experiment. He was wearing plastic goggles and was peering into his beaker. "The reaction isn't starting. Maybe I should add some more of the chemical," he said while looking at the clear water-like solution in the glass beaker.

Suddenly he felt like the air conditioner had been turned on. It was very cold. Then he noticed that the air in front of him was so chilly that even his breath was visible. "What? What's going on?" he thought as he could see his breath rise and his body shivered in the cold.

Hojo put his beaker down. "Is someone there?" he asked as he walked through the stainless steel lab stations and tried to see if anyone was there. He didn't know why he knew, but he felt like he was being watched. It was an eerie feeling. His pulse started to quicken. "Hello?" he called out. No one answered. The coldness seemed to intensify, then the coldness waned and suddenly the room temperature started to warm back to normal.

"That was weird," he thought. His pulse was still beating quickly and he still felt unnerved. But there was nothing there right? If you couldn't see anything, it meant nothing was there, right? Somewhere in his gut he felt that he was lying to himself and that something was horribly wrong. But he couldn't bring it to himself to admit it.

"OK. It was just the air conditioner going into overdrive or something. Now where was I?" said Hojo out loud.

Hojo peered down at his beaker and looked at the solvents he was using for the reaction. He didn't notice that the inert solvent he was using was now labeled 'Hydrochloric Acid'. The beaker already contained 'Acetyl Chloride'. Without the slightest delay Hojo poured the entire container of 'Hydrochloric Acid' into the beaker. "This should cause a reaction," he thought.

Suddenly the beaker exploded and glass shards flew through the air hitting his body painfully. At the same time fumes of salty, acidic smoke filled the air and burned his lungs, face, arms and body. He coughed and spat. His body felt like it was melting and that it was on fire. He quickly ran to the emergency washing station and pulled the chain that let water crash down on him. As his hair fell in clumps around him and some of his skin peeled away he passed out onto the floor.

* * *

Inuyasha looked at the ring that he held in his palm. It had been burning a hole in his pocket all day long. He wanted to give it to Kagome. He needed to give it to her. He wanted to make Kagome his and he really didn't want to wait any longer. Now there was just the inconvenience of finding the right time.

He had thought about proposing to her when he met her at the Torii gates in the morning. However, she was too tired so he picked her up and he ended up carrying her to the Shinjuku station on his back. Then the subway was too damn crowded to say something that should be done in private. Then they got to the campus and they had to split up for classes. Now she was done with classes and Inuyasha was waiting outside her last class for the day.

He took the ring and tossed it and caught it again. It became a nervous habit. He tossed it. Caught it. Tossed it. Caught it.

"What are you playing with Inuyasha?" asked Kagome.

Inuyasha froze as the ring was tossed and he couldn't catch it because he had been caught off guard. It fell to the ground as he tried to grab it but it kept on flying from his grasp and his face spasmed in contortions. "Oh Shit!" he yelled as he dove to the ground trying to find the gold ring.

Kagome was doing her best to help. "I'll help you Inuyasha. It looked like gold. What was it?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing," Inuyasha sputtered.

"Then why are you so worked up and nervous?" she asked with a smile and a lilt to her voice.

"I'm…not…worked…up," said Inuyasha as he dropped to the ground and started trying to find the gold ring before she did.

"Yes, you are Inuyasha-kun," she said teasingly. "You just won't admit it." Then she paused as she was also looking around the ground. "Oh, is this it? It looks like a gold ring…Umph…"

Inuyasha was quickly on top of her desperately trying to get the ring away from her before she could find out what it was. He tried to swipe at it. Then he looked down to see Kagome pinned under him with a self-rightous look on her face.

"I found it. Finders keepers, Yash! Now what exactly was this?" she said as she pulled it closer to her eyes and looked at it. Her eyes widened.

"This ring…," she said as she turned it over and over in her hand. "It looks like Mom's engagement ring. Where did you get it Inuyasha?"

"I um…Keh…Souta..Souta gave it to me," said Inuyasha.

"Dad. Dad gave you Mom's engagement ring? Why? Oh…," Kagome looked up at the man who had her pinned to the ground.

"Did you have something to say to me Inuyasha?" asked Kagome.

Inuyasha's eyes blurred. He took the ring from her hand and held it in his. He still had his body on top pinning her underneath him.

"Kagome," he said as he brushed her bangs from her eyes. "I married you before. But it was 'until death do us part' so I was hoping that you…"

"Hoping…?" chimed in Kagome.

"I was hoping that you wouldn't mind marrying me all over again," said Inuyasha as he looked deeply into her brown eyes to see himself reflected back.

"Oh, Inuyasha," she said as she smiled shyly. "Yes, of course. You are the only man for me. This lifetime or any other."

Inuyasha then took the ring and gingerly put the ring on the ring finger on her left hand. "Having you as my wife would make me the happiest person alive," said Inuyasha. Then with his fiancé underneath him he couldn't help but to put a fevered kiss on her lips. Their lips met and he dove into her wet mouth. Her hands laced behind his neck, feeling his long silver hair that merged with her long black hair as he leaned above her. Inuyasha gripped his arms underneath her and they came together under her back, drawing her closer to him. Inuyasha felt Kagome's soft, warm body pressed up against his leaner form. Her wet lips ensorcelled his own. Kagome, his miko, she had cast a spell on him again and this time he didn't want her to break the spell.

Suddenly they heard a scream. "The Chem lab! There's been an explosion, someone get help!"

* * *

Hojo was barely conscious and he was in great pain. His entire body felt like it was raw and on fire. He looked at his hands and saw that his skin had melted away and that blood and raw muscles and sinews were visible. He didn't want to know what his face looked like.

"You're dying," said a voice. "It won't be much longer. Do you want to live?"

"Live?" choaked Hojo. He really didn't know if he wanted to live anymore. What would Kagome think of him looking like this? She would never love him now. Maybe it was best to die. He turned around looking for where the voice might be coming from, but his vision was too blurred.

"You are thinking about Kagome," the voice whispered. "Do you want her? Do you want her to love you?" The voice paused as Hojo's wheezing breath was the only sound in the room.

"I can give you Kagome. I can even let you live with her forever. Imagine an eternity, your soul tied to Kagome's. Never to part," said the voice.

"She'll never, she'll never accept me as I am now. I just want to die. Leave me alone!" Hojo tried to scream but his voice only came out as a gurgled whimper.

"I can heal you. I can make you handsome. I can get rid of your pain," said the voice.

"Will I look as I did before? Will I have Kagome?" asked Hojo piteously.

"Yes, you just have to agree to let me in," said the voice.

"Let you in? Let you into what?" asked Hojo.

"Open your mouth and let me in," said the voice.

Hojo decided by then that he was just delirious. Whatever the voice was asking for--it must have just been his mind making up some sort of sick fantasy before he died.

Then he felt something brush against his raw and blistered mouth. He couldn't tell what it was, but it seemed to be an insect crawling over his lips.

"Let me in," said the insect. "Let me inside and I will grant you everything I promised you."

Hojo opened up his mouth in horror as a spider crawled into his mouth and down his throat. "Yes, that is it," the spider droned on. "There, I just need to merge my soul with you there…"

Suddenly Hojo collapsed again onto the floor. But this time all of his wounds were healed. Except for a little blood that was still on his hair and body, he seemed uninjured. In fact if you were to look down at his body you would see that he was even more handsome than he was before. The old Hojo was a naïve, yet foolishly pretty boy. Now there was a man lying on the ground, excessively handsome and his boyish features were replaced with hardness.

* * *

Hojo groaned as he woke up. He had expected his hands to be raw and bloody, but as he turned his hands around in front of his eyes he could see no damage. There was a little blood on them, but he was no longer seeing his skin burned away. He put his hands to his sides and felt the sheets of a bed. Then the stinging smell of antiseptic wafted into his nostrils. He was in a hospital room.

"The explosion…It must have been a delusion," he thought as he looked up. His eyes were a little blurry at first, but he was able to make out Eri, his lab partner, Kagome and the boy who kept on bothering Kagome in the corner. The boy was leaning against the wall with a frown on his face, both arms crossed and inside of his kimono sleeves.

"What happened?" asked Hojo as he looked at Kagome. But it was Eri who answered.

"Hojo. You are lucky to be alive. You mixed 'Hydrochloric Acid'and 'Acetyl Chloride'. Do you have a death wish? What were you thinking?" asked Eri her voice full of concern.

"I…I..don't recall mixing those two chemicals. Why would I do something like that? Why?" he said.

"You've been pushing yourself too hard Hojo," said Eri with concern. "You must have not even noticed what you were doing."

"Kagome?" asked Hojo.

Kagome left the boy who was leaning against the wall and came up to Hojo.

"Yes, Hojo. How are you doing?" asked Kagome her face full of concern. Hojo wryly noticed the other boy who let out a loud 'humph' when Kagome got near to him.

"I..hurt a little. But I'm better now that you are here Kagome," said Hojo with a smile on his face.

"Oh..uh…thanks Hojo," said Kagome. "I hope that you get better soon. The doctor's say that you are just fine and from everything we have heard you are lucky to escape with no injuries. The Chem lab station you were at is destroyed." She looked down at him with concern. "Please get better Hojo, the archery team needs you to get better."

Hojo grimaced for a second. "Only the archery team?" he thought.

"Look, Hojo. I need to get home. My Dad gets upset if I am out after dark. Get better OK? I'll let the team know so that they can visit you here," said Kagome as she walked back to the other boy and held the other boy's hand.

Hojo could only gawk at how close Kagome was to the other boy. She was even holding his hand! He had never seen her hold anyone's hand before. And she was looking up at the other boy with a smile and the other boy was smiling back. And on her hand! On her hand was a gold ring on her ring finger. A ring he had never seen there before.

What was going on? And why was this other boy taking Kagome? He felt his blood burn and rage as he saw the two of them leave his hospital room. The two of them were walking hand and hand—leaving his angry fury in their wake.

_**Author's Note:**_

_#1: When we visited a Buddhist temple in Japan and talked to the owner/head priest we found out his temple had been passed down from generation to generation to the oldest male heir. So having Miroku inherit a temple as the first-born son is quite normal._

_#2: We also saw many multi-generational families in Japan living in the same household. Most married couples move in with the husband's family after marriage._

_#3: I thought that I would recommend some excellent Inuyasha fan fict for each chapter that I write. There is so much good stuff out there! I recently read the following two stories by Eowyn Organa--The Protector of Her Heart and Heart of the Sea. Well written and great romance! Oh, I'm such a sucker for a good romance. _

_**Next Chapter:**__ Another Inuyasha canon character makes his/her first appearance in my story. Any guesses as to who it will be? Please feel free to guess as you read and review. If you guess right I'll mention you at the end of the chapter. The next chapter is almost complete (I wrote it before I wrote this one—cool stuff is going to happen…). So read and review if you want to see it soon!_

_**Special thanks to the following reviewers:**_

_Tori Rex: Yes, I'm also happy to have a wiser Inuyasha. And Shippo…I don't know…we're having another canon character show up the next chapter, but I won't tell you who yet. :-P_

_Nabikineum: So is it ominous and conflict-y enough for you now?? There's more to come, I'm just warming up! How did Inuyasha and Kagome die? They both died of old age within one week of each other. (At least in my story.) Oops—so should I kick Inuyasha for the 'at least you're both in one body this time remark'? Well, the guy was always a little too blunt for his own good…_

_Purple-Converse-AllStar: Speaking of marriage…I think you had a crystal ball…_

_Blackdeathmessenger: Here you go. Review and you'll get another one really soon…_

_Kovia: OK Kovia. I was busting up laughing when I read your review and I started to cry. God help me…Maybe you should be writing some comedy fan fict?:-)_

_Sofiakalaughable: There will be more of Miroku and Sango in the next two chapters. And of course there will always be my favorite couple, Inuyasha and Kagome._

_The Other Side of Dusk: I hope you'll enjoy it._


	9. Chapter 9: Dinner and Demons

**Dinner and Demons**

Kagome was carefully preparing the 'Shabu Shabu' meal for her fiancée's household. Shabu Shabu was named after the sound the water in the pot made as it boiled. It was actually a simple meal. A pot of boiling water was put in the middle and then vegetables, tofu and meat were cut up into small, thin portions and were placed around the pot. During the dinner participants would dip the meat or vegetables into the pot to cook them. By the time the meal was over all of the extra food was put into the pot to make a flavorful soup that would finish off the meal. Kagome was carefully slicing up the vegetables and putting them into small white bowls. Her hands were deft and the ensemble that she had prepared looked like a professional chef had made it.

Kagome thought back as to why she was here and why she was making the meal.

_"Inuyasha. I can't be out at night. You know that. It's dangerous,"said Kagome._

_"It's only one night Kagome. Sango and Miroku will be there. I don't want to risk your safety either. But it's tradition and it will make my mother happy."_

_"Yes, tradition," sighed Kagome as she blew at her own bangs in frustration._

_Inuaysha kissed her on the forehead. "You know I love you, don't you koibito?" asked Inuyasha._

_"Yes, you baka," said Kagome as she grabbed his kosode in both of her hands and then stood up to kiss him gently on the lips. "Just get me home as quickly as possible when this is done."_

In Japan the mother-in-law had all of the power and control in the family. However, since this was the 21st century things had changed somewhat. Mother-in-law's were once considered the bane of any engaged or newly married woman. Now they were only people that you would need to respect and hopefully curry favor with. And the one tradition that had still been kept even in this century is that a newly engaged woman would cook a dinner for her husband's-to-be family to meet their approval. The formal dinner was a way that the daughter-in-law could prove that she would be a good wife and could take care of the mother's son.

"How could Mrs. Moroboshi possibly know that this tradition puts me in danger?" she thought. At least the location of the dinner was at a temple. She would be in no danger there. And to make doubly sure she had Inuyasha and Miroku put up sutras all over the shrine the day before she arrived. As long as she stayed on the temple grounds she was safe. But Mrs. Moroboshi would certainly not let her stay the night. It would be improper. So Inuyasha and Kagome had done their best to work out a plan to get Kagome back home as quickly and as safely as possible.

Kagome sighed as she sliced the steak into paper-thin slices. Everything was set for dinner. She had already laid out the dinner table. Black lacquer plates and side dishes had already been placed on the table. And to the side was an iced bottle of sake that sat in a small ice filled lacquer box.

"Inuyasha," she called. "Can you help me get this boiling pot to the dinner table?"

Inuyasha was there immediately. He was wearing a grey bandanna and brown contacts again, much to Kagome's disapproval. However, tonight was about making his mother happy with the impending marriage. There was no need to upset her with his obvious demon heritage.

He seemed a little nervous about the event. But his obviously adoring gaze of Kagome helped break the tension. "I have it. Boy, this is hot," said Inuyasha as he carried the boiling fondue pot to the middle of the table and started to hook up the power source that would keep the water bubbling lightly all dinner long.

Sango and Miroku soon walked in. "May I help?" asked Sango.

Kagome smiled. "Yes, I would like some help. But, no I cannot really have any more help. The tradition states that I am the only one who prepares and makes the dinner. But you can help me with the dishes afterward!" she said smiling.

"So why is Inuyasha helping?" saked Sango with a grin. Inuyasha quickly bumped his head on the bottom of the table as he was trying to get the power source hooked up.

"Gah!" he yelled and a few colorful curses escaped his mouth.

"Inuyasha," whispered Kagome. "Your Mom is here…"

Kagome turned and smiled at Sango. "I'm just a weak human. I couldn't possibly lift the pot myself." She smiled deviously at the man huddled under the table who was trying not to curse again. "I need a strong man to help me," she said as she smirked and the hanyou under the table peeked out his head and smiled back at her thoughtfully before going back to his task. But this time he was humming and seemed much happier.

"There," said Kagome. "Everything is done. Can someone get the Moroboshi's and can everyone SIT at the table?"

"Arrgh!", yelled Inuyasha as he felt himself get plastered to the floor.

"Oh Kami! Inuyasha, I am so sorry I didn't mean to…," murmured Kagome as she rushed to help pick Inuyasha off of the floor. Sango and Miroku both looked at them in confusion. Why was Inuyasha suddenly plastered on the floor?

"Can you just not use that WORD, please," asked Inuyasha.

"I'm sorry, please forgive me," she asked as her eyes met his. Suddenly the pained look in Inuyasha's eyes were softened and all of the sudden their lips almost met.

"Ahem." Someone was coughing. Mr. and Mrs. Moroboshi soon made it into the dining room.

Kagome turned to bow deeply and reverently as was fitting for a woman who was meeting her future mother-in-law. "How do you do Mrs. Moroboshi," said Kagome. Then she murmured "dozo" as she gestured at the table. Soon Inuyasha, Kagome, Mr. and Mrs. Moroboshi, Miroku and Sango found themselves sitting at a round table with a pot of Shabu Shabu bubbling happily in the middle.

"I am well," said Mrs. Moroboshi and then she smiled and tried to break the tension. "Your dinner looks lovely child. How did you learn to cook?"

"My grandmother taught me," said Kagome.

"Oh, not your mother?"

"My mother died when I was a child. It broke my father's heart. But I always had my grandmother around. She was really like a second mother to me."

"Oh, I am sorry to hear that. I am glad that you still have family with you. Where do you live?"

"Hirugashi Shrine, it's just a few minutes away…"

"Hirugashi Shrine? You are a Hirugashi?"

"Yes, Mrs. Moroboshi," said Kagome as she smiled.

"So do you work at the shrine?" asked Mrs. Morosboshi.

"Yes, I am a miko at the shrine. I also study at Tokyo University. Inuyasha has been walking me to and from my classes every day for a few weeks now."

"Oh, so I have heard. He wouldn't even show up at home for a while. I was pretty angry at him."

Inuyasha seemed a little embarrassed and tried not to scowl.

"So Kagome. You are a Hirugashi. Does your family own the shrine?"

"Yes, I am the only child of my father. The shrine will pass to me. My father has already asked that Inuyasha live with us after the marriage. I hope that you will agree."

Mrs. Moroboshi hummed to herself as if in agreement. "Child. You are a miko. Do you know what Inuyasha is?"

"He's a half-demon," said Kagome without batting an eye. "I knew that almost immediately from when I first met him."

"So a miko and a half-demon. Then you are aware and this doesn't bother you?" she asked pointedly. Inuyasha cringed at the question. Leave it up to his mother to say something that made him want to turn his head away.

"I love Inuyasha more than anything else in the world, Mrs. Moroboshi. He has my heart. It doesn't matter to me if he was half-demon. I love him--all of him," said Kagome with sincerity.

Inuyasha couldn't help but beaming in pride at his fiancé. He was positively giddy. He really didn't know how he could come down from this high.

"Well, Inuyasha. You are very lucky to have found this girl," said Mrs. Moroboshi thoughtfully as she picked up a vegetable with her chopsticks and swished it in the pot.

Inuyasha could only beam in happiness at the moment. "I know, mother, I know…"

* * *

"So are you ready?" asked Inuyasha to Kagome, Sango and Miroku. Both Inuyasha and Sango had changed after the dinner to better prepare for their escorting mission back to the Hirugashi Shrine. Inuyasha had on a red kimono and black hakama pants with his sword at his side. Sango was wearing her black Ninjitsu uniform (the gi), which hugged nearly every curve of her body.

Miroku was simply pacing and fuming as he saw how seriously everyone was taking their roles. "You can't be serious!" said Miroku. "No demons are going to attack her. Are you crazy?"

Inuyasha's patience was being severely tested tonight. "Shut up Miroku. Sango and I have already gone over this with you many times. If you don't believe us then stay at home. We are going to protect Kagome."

"Are you certain it's not the Yakuza or something? Maybe they're just dressing up to look like demons?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I am certain. Do you have the sword with you, Roku?"

"Uh yes," said Miroku as he took the sharp sword from his scabbard and tried a few experimental swings. "After all of my kendo classes this is so weird--to hold a real sword. I'm used to a wooden bokun."

"Alright, then we're almost done," said Inuyasha. "Have your bow ready Kagome and climb on my back," he said as he bent down to pick her up and Kagome happily got on.

"Oh," said Miroku as he bent down with his hands gently squeezing the open air behind him. "Sango, I think that you need to get on my back as well. Just for safety's sake!"

"Hentai!" Sango yelled as she hit him with the butt of the sai she was holding.

Miroku was having trouble focusing on anything else but Sango right now. She was wearing her ninjitsu garb which was a lovely form fitting black outfit. It showed her every curve and he was itching to touch her--especially that lovely curvy ass of hers. He also briefly noticed that she also had sai's strapped to her side. She looked dangerous and sexy all at one time. He really was having a difficulty in not getting a hard-on right then and there.

"Oh Sango. What you do to me," he thought as he saw the lovely curved woman turn and sashay away from him. The sai's that were strapped to her side only further accentuated the movement of her hips swaying left and right as she walked.

"Not so fast," Miroku yelled. "I think a woman like you needs someone to look after her," he murmured.

Sango only rolled her eyes. "As if a hentai could protect me… Come on, quick. Get running!" She yelled. Miroku gulped as he tried to keep up with her. "Still," he thought. "If I HAVE to watch her lovely ass running in front of me all night…" He let that thought slide as he grinned.

Soon the entire group was running at a fast pace. They would have about ten minutes of fast running to get to Hirugashi shrine and once they were within the Torii gates, the sutras would keep out any demons.

After about five minutes of running Miroku felt the air start to chill noticeably. Soon his breath was visible. "What? It's still Fall, how could it get cold so quickly?" he thought.

"Down!" yelled Inuyasha as Kagome got down off of his back. "Everyone back to back!"

Soon the entire group of four were standing with their backs to each other.

Miroku noticed how silent and still everything was. Considering that this was downtown Tokyo, why wasn't there anyone else around? It was too silent and cold. The chilly air went deep and penetrated his bones. It felt like a dense cold fog has seeped right into his soul. Then he felt something unmistakable. Since he had been raised at a Buddhist temple the idea of 'evil" had often been taught. He had often heard how evil felt and how it would wash over you in horror. He had never felt more horrified than he had ever felt in his life. The feeling of absolute terror, coldness, evil and something with the intention of doing him harm swarmed over him in waves. It took all of his training that he had learned from his father to not give in to the utter despair that he felt. He took out his sword from his scabbard and wasn't too surprised that he wasn't the only one.

Inuyasha's old, mangled blade suddenly came to life and seemed over three meters long! It glowed and it soon became the one light beacon of hope for their party. Kagome had her bow drawn and ready. Sango had both sai's in front of her ready to do battle.

Then 'they' came. Miroku didn't know exactly what 'they' were, but somehow his soul had already told him the answer. They were the personification of evil--demons. They were only shadows at first, but soon they started to congeal in front of them and took on shapes. The shapes were large and there were hundreds of them swarming against them all at once.

"Shit!" said Inuyasha "More than last time..."

Miroku didn't know what the last time was like. But he knew this wasn't going to be easy. Inuyasha was quickly slashing away with his large glowing sword at black demons that kept on creeping into existence. Kagome was quickly firing arrows of pure, unadulterated light that withered away a demon with their touch. Miroku felt that whatever Kagome was doing, it was holy. He could sense that as well. Her arrows helped to erase some of the gnawing fear that overcame them. With her arrows there was hope.

Sango had a sai in both hands and was bludgeoning any demonic presence that bothered to get too near to her. He found that her attacks were the least effective of the group so far. Inuyasha's and Kagome's attacks seemed mystical. Whereas Sango had only traditional Ninjitsu attacks to fend off the attackers.

Suddenly something sprang at Miroku and his many years of kendo training came into play. He defended himself with a hard slashing motion and the demon in front of him bled black blood. Then it fell to the ground, changed into smoke and then vanished into thin air. But there was no time to congratulate himself. The demons were coming again. They were coming in waves and he really didn't think that he would be able to keep up.

Suddenly Inuyasha broke himself away from the party. "Stay behind me Kagome!" he yelled. "Wind Scar!" he screamed as a blinding flash of energy and lightening danced off of his sword and made it's way towards a horde of demons trying to attack them. Soon hundreds of black demons wavered and faded away as if they were smoke against the bright onslaught.

However, just as Inuyasha took down those demons--more came to take their place. Soon the tide of battle seemed to be changing toward the demons that were attacking them. There were too many, they came too fast and they were feeling overwhelmed.

Then they heard a billowing laughter coming from above. "Ku ku ku…," murmured a voice. Miroku could barely make out a black figure that seemed to be human in form that floated above them with a large black cape that wavered in the wind. The face was dark and hard to see. But he could see long black hair and malicious maroon eyes that glowed in the dark.

"I only want one of you," The voice demanded. "Surrender and give me Kagome or everyone will die."

"Naraku, you son of a bitch!" yelled Inuyasha. "Get away from her!"

"Oh, you don't understand," Naraku murmured. "I'll never give up. I need her and I will have her. She is the only one who can do it…"

Suddenly, a figure appeared out of nowhere. The darkened figure moved quickly forward and grabbed Kagome by the waist as she yelped. It was hard to make out who it was. It was a man with short brown hair, a black outfit and deep red eyes. The figure floated up toward Naraku.

"Kagome!" screamed Inuyasha. "Get your hands off of her you bastard!"

"Yes, bring her to me my servant!" intoned Naraku. Then he chuckled, but it was a laugh void of humor. "Inuyasha. You can never protect your women. Kagome will suffer the same fate as Kikyo did, so long ago…"

Soon the two demon-like men drew together in the air with the servant holding Kagome in a vice-like grip that she seemed to be trying to struggle out of.

Naraku droned on, "There's little you can do now...is there Inuyasha? If you attack me with your sword you could kill Kagome. And you wouldn't want that, would you?"

"You bastard!" yelled Inuyasha as he tried to leap into the air after Naraku.

"I bid you farewell, half-breed. I have what I wanted," said Naraku as he and the other demonic creature started to fly away.

At that instance Kagome yelled and a faint pink glow could be seen from her hands as she gripped the hands that held her and the demon-like man screamed in agony. "Burn demon!" she screamed. The man who held her could no longer hold on as her hands lanced him with pain. Kagome started to fall to the ground.

Inuyasha had already leapt into the air and now he changed his trajectory to catch Kagome. He caught her bridal style as she smiled and put her hands around his neck.

Suddenly another figure flew in from above with long silver hair and a white kimono, everyone on the ground could hear him scream, "Bakusaiga!"

Swiftly, with one stroke, half of the demons attacking them started to dissolve and melt away as if they were rotting from the inside. Though the rest of the party was still trying to fight, the added strength of this man turned the tide back to their favor.

Naraku with the glowing red eyes grimaced and turned away seemingly afraid for the first time. "Sesshomaru," the black demonic presence said. "We will meet again," Naraku said as both demon-like men wavered and faded away as if they were only black smoke.

Any demons that might have been left wavered and evaporated away into nothingness. The air started to warm and Miroku could no longer see his breath.

Miroku them stared in amazement as the man who was flying gracefully landed next to Inuyasha and stared at him directly in the eyes with a cold look of ice. Cold amber eyes were facing the warmer molten gold of Inuyasha's eyes. The similarities were too much to be coincidental. This new man looked like an older version of Inuyasha. This Sesshomaru was much older, more calculating and impassioned. The only difference between the two of them, besides the obvious difference in age was that the older man had a small crescent moon on his forehead, purple stripes along his cheeks and had no dog-like ears. Miroku guessed that the man seemed to be about 40 years-old. That is if you could call him a man, he had just flown across the sky!

"Son", said Sesshomaru with an impassioned look on his face as he looked at Inuyasha. "Or should I call you brother?"

"Father?" said Inuyasha. "Sesshomaru?"

"Where is Rin? Where is your mother?" Sesshomaru demanded.

* * *

_**Authors' Notes:**_

_#1: My brother (an American) married a Japanese woman (from Japan). We were all a little shocked to have her ask to prepare a meal for my Mom (her new mother-in-law). My brother also told me how nervous she was since Japanese mother-in-laws are notorious for being mean to their daughter-in-laws. Anyway, we found out that new wives are supposed to cook for their new mother-in-law to show that they can properly care and feed their son. So it's a tradition still practiced today. She cooked us all a meal in 2006._

_#2: I didn't quite have Inuyasha attempt to get permission to marry Kagome from Souta down correctly. I found out from my brother that he had to go to the Japanese woman's father with a special bottle of sake to ask for her hand in marriage. I didn't have Inuyasha do this, but I'll assume that was because Inuyasha is brash and doesn't care too much about rituals._

_#3: DozoPlease come  
YakuzaJapanese mafia_

_**Next Chapter:** Rin, Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango--their past explained. Stay tuned. See you next week. Please read and review!_

_**The Winner of the 'Who is the next Canon Character Contest?' is:**_

_Tori Rex guessed correctly by saying the next canon character to show up would be 'Sessomaru'. I was intrigued to see that Kouga and Kikyo were the favorites instead of Fluffy. So as a reward for guessing correctly Tori Rex gets the next 'unedited' chapter e-mailed ahead of schedule. Hummm..I think I'll come up with another contest again soon!_

_**Special thanks to the following reviewers:**_

_Tori Rex: Great guess with Fluffy! Yes, poor Hojo. The guy really suffered in the last chapter didn't he? I'm such an evil writer…As for the wedding details…I can't tell you now…that would be a spoiler. You'll see…_

_Nabikineum: Yep, that was the dark and evil chapter. I'm glad that you liked it. Now evil is here to stay. Poor Kagome and Inuyasha…_

_Blackdeathmessenger: Thanks. No Koga yet. I'm toying with putting a few more cannon characters into the plot. We'll see what happens. In my universe Koga is still around._

_demon master inu: No Kikyo in my story. Yes, Naraku showed up—more or less. But I figured everyone knew that was going to happen…_

_sofiakalaughable: Nope. Not Kikyo or Koga. Kikyo won't be showing up in my story, but maybe Koga. I'm glad you liked the proposal scene. I wanted to have some humor in it._

_Njblackwolf: Glad you like the new hothead. I've been wanting to write him as a more mature character._

_Purple-Converse-AllStar: Ha ha! Yes, it seems pretty incredible to have Hojo as Naraku doesn't it? But actually Hojo isn't Naraku, he's just tied to him like Kagura. As to why, you'll find out more later._


	10. Chapter 10: Reincarnations

**Reincarnations**

_**Last Chapter:**_

_"Son", said Sesshomaru with an impassioned look on his face as he looked at Inuyasha. "Or should I call you brother?"_

_"Father?" said Inuyasha. "Sesshomaru?"_

_"Where is Rin? Where is your mother?" Sesshomaru demanded._

* * *

"Rin? My Mom?" Inuyasha asked. "Keh. You never supported her and didn't ever seem to give a damn about me. Now you come around and demand where she is? Well fuck yourself Sessomaru!"

"You will tell me Inu-Yasha," said Sessomaru slowly and with an ice-like face. "I am your father…"

"You're just the sperm donor. You were no father to me and no husband to my Mom!" yelled Inuyasha in disgust.

Sesshomaru's face was a mask. But the edges of his mouth seemed to form a frown.

"Your father?" murmured Kagome as she walked up to Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. "I remember Sesshomaru. But he was your brother, not your father…"

Sesshomaru looked at the miko with narrowed eyes. "Leave it up to Inuyasha to find a way to reincarnate with you miko. The only way he could be a half-demon again was to be through my lineage. For the past 500 years I made sure that Rin never became pregnant. But somehow he was born. My bastard brother became my bastard son!"

"Well, I'm glad that he was born Sesshomaru. Don't you dare start insulting him!" yelled Kagome with her anger rising.

"Silence human!" said Sesshomaru as Inuyasha moved to stand between the two of them. "I asked Inuyasha a question. Where is Rin?"

Inuyasha glared at Sesshomaru. He didn't like Sesshomaru's threatening tone with Kagome. He decided to face the lesser of the two evils. He would tell Sesshomaru the truth in order to keep Kagome safe. He would do just about anything to keep her safe--even if that meant talking to his deadbeat Dad. "My mother died when I was six years old. That was twelve years ago…" said Inuyasha his voice trailing off.

"No…," Sesshomaru dropped to his knees. "No." His face was still impassioned but there was the slightest hint of anger or sadness in his face as his lips twitched. "I could have saved her if I had known…now it is too late…why did she die?"

Inuyasha huffed and then continued his story, "My mother died in a car accident. We were driving…it was rainy... I don't know why her car skidded off of the side of the road. But I survived. I think it was due to my half-demon blood. She was thrown from the car just like I was. She died instantly Sesshomaru," said Inuyasha.

"Do you have any idea…!" Sesshomaru got up and his voice rose in anger. "Do you have any idea what it has been like these past 500 years to love a human? She never lives for very long then she dies. She has died seven times so far. Each time she dies a little piece of me dies with her. Then I have to find her reincarnation. It's always a struggle, to find her in time before it's too late. Then when I find her she never remembers me. I have to help her remember. I have to help her know that I love her and that she's my mate. Then she ages and dies--again! Rin…"

Kagome moved to Seeshomaru's side--her anger at his outburst quickly forgotten. "We all know how much you loved Rin," she said. Inuyasha could only still stand there with his hands folded into his kimono sleeves with a frown on his face.

"I…I only had Rin for one night in this past lifetime. She left in the morning before I woke up. I was never able to tell her the truth. She died never knowing the truth…," said Sesshomaru as he stood up.

"Twelve years…? It has been twelve years since she died? I have been looking for a woman who was in her 30's and now I find that I must look for a twelve year old girl," said Sesshomaru his eyes now held a determined glint in them again. Then he turned and took something out of his kimono pocket. It was a man's solid gold ring. Sesshomaru tossed it at Kagome and she caught it in her fingers.

"Miko, I need you to make more of them," said Sesshomaru.

"More? More of what?" asked Kagome with the gold band in her hands.

"Rings of concealment," said Sesshomaru with impatience. "Kami! I hate having to deal with reincarnations. This Sesshomaru doesn't like to have to explain the same thing over and over again!

"You were the one who came up with the idea and created the rings to hand out to demons and half-demons so that they could live at peace with humans. With the ring in place we look like ordinary humans and no one is the wiser. It was the only way you said--the only way to keep the fragile peace.

"Now there are not enough of them and you are the only miko who ever had the power to create them. I will be bringing you some more rings and I need you to make more of them. Where do you live now Miko?"

"Hirugashi Shrine, downtown Tokyo," said Kagome. "But I don't know how to make these rings. I don't even have all of my memories."

"You will make them and you will remember miko," said Sesshomaru with an ice-like gaze. Kagome didn't know if she had just been given an instruction or a threat.

"And you Inuyasha. Where do you live now," asked Sesshomaru.

Inuyasha grimaced before he turned back to Sesshomaru and gave him an answer, "I live at the Moroboshi Buddhist Temple in downtown Tokyo. But after I marry Kagome I will be living at her Shrine."

"Marriage?" said Sesshomaru. "Well, I guess it was inevitable." He paused, "I will meet with you later. I will also mail the rings and my contact information to you there. Help her remember Inuyasha," said Sesshomaru as he took to the air.

Miroku was gaping in amazement. "What just happened here?" he said out loud. "Besides the fact that we were attacked by demons and almost died…"

He quickly turned to stare at Sango who seemed almost as befuddled as he was. But unlike him she had faced demons before. So she swallowed hard and let her unease disappear from her face.

"Come on you two, I don't have all day," said Inuyasha. "I'm getting Kagome home right now. Meet me at the shrine and I'll answer your questions there." Inuyasha then bent down to pick up Kagome who quickly slid up onto his back with a big grin on her face. Once Inuyasha had Kagome's thighs firmly in his grip he leapt up into the black night and disappeared.

"Reincarnation?" asked Miroku as Inuyasha leapt out of view. "Demons? And they actually know some of these demons personally?

Miroku turned to Sango. "Sango what exactly is going on?"

"I have no idea," she murmured. "Come on," she said as she started running toward the Hirugashi shrine.

Miroku was quickly caught by the view of a luscious rear end that was running away from him. Her ass was enveloped in a black form fitting gi and her silver sais flashed by her side, accentuating her movements as her hips swayed left and right.

The thoughts on Miroku's mind then quickly flew from the horror of fighting demons to the lovely apparition that was Sango.

Sango quickly noticed that Miroku wasn't following her. She turned around to find the man staring at her with lust in his eyes. "Hentai!" she yelled. "Can you ever not think perverted thoughts? Get moving!"

Regretfully Miroku started to move and ran to catch up to Sango. "At least," he thought. "I have that lovely ass to watch as I run!" Miroku grinned. He silently wished all of his jogging sessions had such a lovely view to keep him going.

* * *

Inuyasha was trying to explain what had just happened to Miroku and Sango at the Hirugashi Shrine. They were all sitting down in front of the Goshinboku tree.

"The Shikon no tama had the ability to give humans or demons immense power and it also had the ability to grant a wish," he explained.

"But only the right wish," added Kagome.

"So this mystical Shikon no tama was taken by Naraku during your past life and he used it to be really powerful?" asked Sango.

Inuyasha continued, "Immensely powerful…Sesshomaru was the one to deliver the final striking blow and then Kagome was able to purify the jewel which Naraku had corrupted."

"Wait Sesshomaru. So is he a reincarnation as well…?" asked Miroku.

Inuyasha sighed. "No, he isn't. He's a full demon. Demons live pretty much forever unless someone kills them and trust me it's really hard to kill a demon. Sesshomaru is over 500 years old now. The same Sesshomaru that was with us 500 years ago is still with us today. In my past life he was my brother. Now the tables have turned and he is my father.

"Anyway," Inuyasha continued, "Kagome gave me the shikon no tama so that I could make a wish. The right wish would make it disappear from existence and we were all pretty tired of that damn jewel by then."

"Well, what did you wish for?" asked Miroku. "Pretty women? Riches? An Endless Supply of Ramen?"

Inuyasha just glanced up at Kagome and she blushed briefly. "I wished to live forever with Kagome—in any lifetime. I think that is why she lived with me for so long. She lived over 300 years with me and think that it will happen again."

"Three hundred years?" mouthed Miroku. "Umm…is that how long a half-demon lives?"

"More or less…," answered Inuyasha.

"I still don't quite get that you are a reincarnation?" said Miroku.

"You're a Buddhist raised in a Buddhist temple, idiot! You know about reincarnations. Why wouldn't we be one?" asked Inuyasha.

"But you're supposed to forget! When you start a new life you forget," murmured Miroku.

"I did," said Inuyasha as he put his hand through his long hair. "I forgot everything. But I kept on having these dreams. Most of the dreams were of Kagome…" Inuyasha looked up at her bashfully as he tried to NOT remember one of his dreams.

Kagome quickly added, "I had been dreaming about you as well—maybe they were my memories. I just thought…I thought that it was just from my overactive imagination. Dad and grandmother had told me so many stories about you Inuyasha. I dreamed…" suddenly Kagome stopped herself as her face turned beet red.

Inuyasha looked up at her thoughtfully and decided to ask her more about her dreams in private later. He wondered if they might be anything like the titillating dreams he still was having.

"I met Kagome and her family by chance or maybe it was just fate. You are the one who started that Miroku," said Inuyasha as he pointed at Miroku's chest with a smirk. "Kagome's father had known my past incarnation so he gave me a magic sword and necklace that I had owned in a past life. When I used these magic items for the first time my memories came back. I remembered over 300 years worth of memories in an instant. Kagome started to remember the day before I proposed to her."

Kagome chimed in, "But my memories are not as clear as his. Mine are foggy. But I am glad that I remember Inuyasha." She paused and looked at him fondly.

"Inuyasha, shouldn't you tell them?" asked Kagome.

"Tell us what?" asked Miroku.

"Well, how souls travel together from one life to the next. We've all been together before. In fact you and Sango…,"added Kagome as she looked down at her hands with a silly smile on her face.

"What do you mean Kagome?" asked Sango in a panic. "You're not saying that I knew Miroku before?"

"Ummm..yes," said Kagome with some hesitation and then she added with a grin. "You married him."

Miroku looked thoughtful and Sango looked incredulous.

Sango stood up. "You can't mean that I married that letch!" yelled Sango as she pointed at Miroku.

"Hey!" said Miroku as he held up his hands in protest.

"Yeah and you had six kids," said Inuyasha as he smirked.

"No, damn way!" yelled Sango as she stormed off the Shrine grounds. "There is no way I would have married that pervert!"

"Oh, she's upset now!" remarked Inuyasha with a big grin on his face.

"Fiesty isn't she?" said Miroku. "Wow! I married that fine piece of ass?"

"Yeah, but she could still kick your ass if you even tried to make your moves on another woman," said Inuyasha with a grin. "You were a kept man."

"Was I happy?" asked Miroku who was still looking at the Torii gates that Sango had just stormed out of.

"You had six kids! You tell me!" said Inuyasha with a smirk. "You couldn't keep your hands off of her, even when you were a grandfather."

"Inuyasha!" said Kagome with her hands on her hips. "I can't believe you are saying these things! I am going to bed! See you tomorrow."

"Kagome! Don't leave!" said Inuyasha with a pout as he got up and trailed off after a fuming Kagome toward the Hirugashi household. "Can't I have a little goodnight kiss? I saved your life didn't I? Kagome…!"

Miroku didn't pay any attention to Inuyasha or Kagome. His eyes still lingered at the Torii gates and where Sango had left. "Sango my love? My wife?" he said as he tried those new words on the tip of his tongue. He found that the words rolled nicely out of his mouth and decided that he liked the way they sounded.

"Sango, Sango," he said. "Oh, what you do to me…"

* * *

_**Next Chapter:**__ Miroku and Sango. Lots of limes. (And the chapter after that will focus on Inuyasha and Kagome with more citrus!) See you next week! Read and review._

_**Special thanks to the following reviewers:  
crackpot:** Their children who were 1/4 demon lived to be about 150 years. So the yougest of them actually died about 50 years ago. They would have grandchildren that are still around. So we'll see about including them...but if they show up they will be minor...**  
sofiakalaughable:** More Inuyasha and Kagome two chapters from now. I'll have an entire chapter just about them. I'm 3/4 of the way done with that chapter right now. OK. I hope you understand about Sessy now. If not, just e-mail me. Sesshomaru mated with Rin, but since she is human she keeps on dying and reincarnating. Fluffy never wanted half-breed kids, so he never let her have kids. But since she wanted kids badly her reincarnation showed up in this lifetime to do just that. The only way to have a kid without Sesshy trying to stop the pregnancy was to leave him. So Rin and Sesshy had a one night stand. Inuyasha was born in 2012 to Rin (Sesshy was the Dad). But Sesshy had no idea he was a Dad until the Tetsuaiga was used for the first time. Inuyasha of course is a reincarnation of the original Inuyasha--but this time instead of being Fluffly's brother he is his son. Make sense? Maybe?**  
Tori Rex:** Glad you are happy with fluffy. I love having Mr. Ice around and it's even more fun having him being a Daddy! Evil Grin. Yep, Inuyasha's Mom wasn't too nice to Kagome. But that's pretty typical.  
**Kovia:** I'm still thinking about Koga. Yes, he's still around--but whether or not he'll find out about Kagome is a different matter. Yes, he still has the hots for her. But he is mated with Ayame now and I think he'll stay loyal to his mate. Or else a certain wolf demoness will get really angry.  
**Purple-Converse-AllStar:** Read my Sessy explanation that I wrote to sofiakalaughable. It was supposed to be a little confusing since it was a cliffhanger. As I wrote it I just couldn't help but think of Empire Strikes Back. "Luke, I am your father..." "No...!" Having Inuyasha play Luke and Sesshy as Darth Vader just kept on going through my mind. Mu ha hahaha!  
**Blackdeathmessenger:** Better luck next time. I think I'll have another contest again soon. Thanks for reviewing.  
_


	11. Chapter 11: Dreaming of You

**Dreaming of You…**

_If you read chapter 10 when it first came out you might want to re-read from the middle of the chapter at the section break where Inuyasha and Kagome are trying to explain the past to Miroku and Sango. After reading your reviews it seemed that it wasn't as clear as I had intended it to be, so I had them explain in more detail. By the way, most of what was mentioned in my re-write comes from the end of 'Silly Human Mating Rituals'. You might want to re-read the last few paragraphs of the last chapter of that story._

_Limey citrus ahead….please don't read if you can't handle adult situations…._

* * *

_He was seeing visions of a beautiful demon slayer. Sango was standing in front of him, she was taking off her form fitting black gi. He loved the way it hugged her figure and he really loved the way she looked as she peeled it off her body revealing peach colored skin. She then moved toward him, gesturing him to take off his clothes. For some reason he was wearing monks robes and sandals. He was amazed at how quickly he was able to shrug off his clothing. He was already ready and erect, his cock pulsing at the sight of her lithe, naked body, round pert breasts and her lovely firm ass. He stood up against her, his hands reaching around her body to grab her rear and to pull her closer up against him as he kissed her deeply. His erection was pressed in between them. She pressed him down to the ground and he looked up in awe as she turned to show her lovely backside to him as she lowered herself on his erection backwards. Her lovely ass was sitting on his pelvis as she rocked against him. Every so often her head would turn so that he could see her beautiful cinnamon eyes and her mouth wide as she moaned, 'Hoshi'. He reached out his hands to firmly grasp her ass and then around her body to touch her breasts that filled up each hand nicely. He pushed and thrust, but he was relying on Sango to push up against him. She was on top, she was the one who was controlled their escapade and he relished it._

Miroku moaned as he woke up in the morning. His hard erection was pushing up against the waistband of his briefs. "Oh Damn", he thought. "Almost the same dream every night the past week." Always of Sango, always of them making love…

He peeled his briefs off of his body to relive the pressure against his straining member. He gripped himself and started to stroke. He imagined her still straddling on top of him, her rear end thrust up against him as he entered from behind--her lovely ass and his penis rubbing against it happily.

"Oh Kami…Sango…," he yelled as his warm goo sputtered out and over his hands.

He found the briefs he had been wearing last night and used them to wipe himself off. Then he threw them in the laundry as he headed to the communal shower in the house.

"Today," he thought. Today he needed to talk to Sango. She had been avoiding him the past week. Ever since Inuyasha and Kagome had revealed that they had been married in a past life, all of the sudden he was a leper. He had had enough. He had tried to think of other women he had slept with, he had even tried to go on a date with another woman this past week. But it was hopeless. Sweet, sexy, dangerous Sango was all he could think about and he thought he might go mad if he couldn't have her.

* * *

_Sango felt both of her hands tied up with something silky. Her eyes were covered with something dark. She couldn't see anything and she felt helpless. She tried to pull her hands apart and felt that she might be able to free them with a struggle, but somehow she felt that she really didn't want to be free for some reason. Warm, strong hands were pulling her naked thighs apart. Then the hands drew up her thighs stroking her inner legs with a light touch. The hands stopped at her moist core and the hands danced around the wet curls. 'Hoshi' she moaned. 'Please…' He was teasing her. The hands brushed up against her wetness and played with her for minutes before they mercifully touched her inner lips. Soon two long fingers moved inside if her and thrusted up. The other hand was brushing up against a warm round nub in front of her core. She screamed as her inner muscles squeezed and spasmed against the fingers that had pleasured her. She was panting and she felt the fingers gradually receding out of her. Then something firm and warm brushed up against her wetness. It was sliding up against her and her warm juices were coating it. 'Hoshi,' she groaned, 'Please finish me…' 'Anything you say my love,' he said in reply as she felt his warm hardness thrusting up inside of her, filling her up and rubbing up against her wet insides. She felt his body pressing down against her and she loved having him in control. She was helpless to his whims and she enjoyed it._

"Ah again Hoshi," she moaned as she started to awake. Once she realized what she had just said and what she had been dreaming a deep red blush flew across her face, neck and breasts. "Oh not again!" she moaned. "Damned Hoshi…," she said while she fisted her pillow. But the inside of her was pulsing and wanted some form of release. She didn't want to, but she allowed her mind to recede to the dream she had so that she could finish her passion and face a new day. Her hands moved within her and she couldn't help but to imagine that they were Miroku's hands touching her and giving her pleasure. It didn't take much for her to go over the edge. She had to bury her face in her pillow to keep from screaming in ecstasy and waking up her entire household.

"Damn, damn, Hoshi!" she seethed. "There is no way I can face him again! I better avoid him until these dreams stop." She felt that if she never saw him again, the dreams would surely go away. "But what if…," she thought. "What if these were memories?" She quickly shook her head with the thought. "No way. I'd never marry a pervert like Miroku," she thought in anger. Then she stopped and put her hands to her face--hands that had just been pumping her insides and were still coated with her juices. "Oh God," she thought. "I was so turned on by that. Maybe I'm a pervert, too." She covered her face with her own hands wondering why a virgin like herself could be having the thoughts of a hentai.

* * *

Miroku was standing outside of Sango's home early on Saturday morning. He had woken up his sleepy brother at 6AM to find out where Sango lived. After an array of colorful cursing for waking him up so early Inuyasha gave him some directions. Apparently Inuyasha had worked with Sango to protect Kagome, so he had actually picked up Kagome from Sango's home before. Miroku even managed to get Sango's phone number by looking at Inuyasha's cell phone while he was still sleeping. What his brother did not know wouldn't hurt him surmised Miroku.

Miroku grinned. Now he just needed to stand here and wait. It was cold outside. He stood against a large tree next to the gate of Sango's home with his arms crossed and a warm black jacket. He doubted that she could have already left home by the time he arrived at 7AM, but now he was starting to worry. It was 9AM and he hadn't seen her yet. He was quite sure that she wasn't avoiding him (at least not yet) because he made sure that the position where he stood would be hidden from the house. He was on the side of the tree facing the street, so she wouldn't see him until she walked right out of the gate. Speaking of which…

"Yes, Kohaku. I'll pick you up later…," he heard Sango cry out as the front door swung open and then shut.

His heart pounded. It was now or nothing. He waited outside of the gates next to the tree. He listened to her hum absentmindedly to herself and heard her zipping up a jacket. He then turned to see her right at the gate. She hadn't noticed him yet. She was wearing black nylon jogging pants and a pink hoodie. She was leaning down to adjust a yen-sized pink iPod that she then placed within her earlobe before she started her jog. Miroku noticed that her face was scrubbed clean and her long black hair was moist from towel drying. He loved the way her iridescent cinnamon brown eyes sparkled and the adorable look of concentration on her face as she prepared for exercise.

"Sango," he called out.

She quickly turned to him with a look on her face of almost blatant horror and fear.

"Oh come on Sango. I don't look that bad do I?" asked Miroku

Her eyes widened as she remembered her dream that was still so fresh on her mind. A dream where Miroku had tied her up with silks, had teased her and then had made love to her. Just remembering the dream that she had been trying to suppress made her angry.

"Get away from me Hoshi!" she yelled.

"Hoshi?" asked Miroku. "You called me Hoshi! Why did you call me Hoshi? You never called me Hoshi before?"

Sango gasped and put her hand to her mouth. "I didn't mean to say that…I…"

Miroku slid up next to Sango and tried to gently put his hand on her arm. "The only time anyone has ever referred to me as Hoshi was when I was dreaming Sango. Do you have dreams about me Sango?" he asked gently.

Sango's face quickly turned beet red. The redness swelled from her cheeks to the top of her ears.

"Bingo!" thought Miroku as he tried not to smile and tried to keep his face as impenetrable as possible.

"No!" said Sango as she shook her head. "No, I do not dream about you. Why would I ever dream about you?"

Miroku looked at her with a calm smile and then continued, "Inuyasha and Kagome were dreaming about each other. I think it was a way for their souls to tell them what their hearts already knew. That they had known each other in a past life and that they wanted to be together again in this life.

"I've been dreaming about you Sango…every night…it's driving me crazy…," said Miroku.

Sango looked up at his violet eyes and her cinnamon eyes widened at his admission. Then she turned and looked away from him and crossed her arms.

"Well, I haven't Hoshi! I wouldn't ever dream about…umph!" said Sango.

Miroku quickly spun her around to have her face him. "Then why do you call me Hoshi? You only call me Hoshi in my dreams. And they are wonderful dreams Sango."

Sango swallowed hard and stared up at him with a mixed look of both desire and fear etched on her features.

"Tell me Sango. Tell me to my face while you look me in the eyes. Tell me that you never dreamed of me…" said Miroku as he held her arm tightly and refused to let go. His eyes bored into hers and she felt that she could get lost in his pretty violet eyes.

"I…I..can't," admitted Sango as her lips quivered.

Miroku's face had a look of happiness on it. "I knew it!" he called out as he beamed at her. "You have just made me the happiest man alive! Woo hoo!" he yelled.

Sango tried to cross her arms again even though Miroku still had a firm grip on her arm.

"It doesn't mean anything. They're just dreams. They have no bearing on the waking world…," said Sango as she tried to remove herself from his grip.

"Just keep telling yourself that Sango…," said Miroku as he cradled her face in his hands and kissed her gently on the lips. Then his tongue danced upon the outer edges of her mouth asking to be let in. Her lips parted and he started tasting the sweetness that was unmistakably Sango. She quickly melted into his kiss as she gave up trying to fight him. His lips were so warm and his expert hands were wandering over her body. He seemed to know where she liked to be touched. Her neck, face, throat and collarbone were gently teased. Then his hands made their way down the small of her back to lightly touch her backside in a loving fashion.

Miroku drew back, looking at her face and her closed eyes intently. She then looked up at him with half-lidded eyes—looking drunk. He tried to hold her steady in his arms since she was a little wobbly.

"Can I jog with you Sango?" asked Miroku.

"Yeah, sure…" said Sango as her fingers brushed her lips and she tried to walk out of the gates of her home with Miroku fast behind her with a steady helping hand and an immense grin on his face.

* * *

_**Next Chapter:** Inuyasha and Kagome--some citrus. Need I say more? See you next week! Read and review. As you review tell me what you would like to happen or what you want to see. I already have the outline done and I won't be deviating from it (much)--but if there are little things you would like to happen--feel free to mention them. I can't guarantee that I will add them. But I will take them into consideration. The next chapter which is only about Inuyasha and Kagome is because I got some many reviews asking that I focus just on them.  
_

_**Special thanks to the following reviewers:**_

_Kovia: OK. I was laughing again in tears. You have been officially put in charge of the chibi version of Inuyasha 2030. As far as Fluffy and Rin go, if Sesshy actually let her have a kid she'll live just as long as he does, but he wouldn't let her. Somehow I think he'll let her have a kid next time…!_

_Nabikineum: Glad that you liked the twists so far…After your questions I re-did Chapter 10 and had Inuyasha and Kagome explain things in greater detail. So maybe take a gander back and read my rewrite. But to answer your questions: Kags lived 300 years with Inuyasha in the past because it was Inuyasha's wish on the Shikon jewel that she live with him forever in every lifetime. This wish extends to this lifetime. So yes, this is the first time they have been back together since the era of the warring states. Fluffy and Rin? Well, they never properly mated since he didn't want her to have half-breed kids. But after 7 incarnations of Rin I think he's going to finally break down and let her have more kids. She did just have Inuyasha in her past life. Fluffy also has some soul searching to do when it comes to fatherhood. Miroku and Sango have showed up in this lifetime for the first time since their past life. That was because souls travel in groups incarnating together. So Miroku and Sango were waiting for Inuyasha and Kagome to incarnate again as well. Does that make sense?_

_Blackdeathmessenger: Hope you liked this chapter. I'm trying to come up with an idea for the next contest. But all I can think of right now is what sort of citrus do you think is going to happen next? Which would be pretty interesting, but pointless I think…! I have to come up with a good question. If you have one feel free to e-mail it to me…_

_sofiakalaughable:.I'm glad that it makes sense to you. I was getting worried that no one got it._


	12. Chapter 12: Life at the Higurashi Shrine

**Life at the Hirugashi Shrine**

_OK some citrus lies ahead….please don't read if you can't handle adult situations…._

* * *

Ding Dong.

"I'll get it!" yelled out Kagome as she walked to the front door. The person she expected was on the other side of the door. She smiled to him warmly as she looked at him. He was wearing his red silk kimono, black hakama pants, his sword at his side and a light-grey bandanna. His eyes were golden and she was so happy to see him without his brown tinted contacts. She looked up at the top of his head and pouted.

"Do you have to cover them up?" she said as her fingers reached for the bandanna.

Inuyasha quickly took her hands and kissed them. "Not now wench. I can't go on showing my ears in public. What would people think if they saw me?"

He looked down at Kagome and looked at her in her miko garb. She was wearing red hakama pants and a white kimono. Her raven hair was draping over each shoulder seductively before coming together in the small of her back with a white paper pony tail holder. She looked so gorgeous in her miko garb. He swallowed hard as he looked up and down at her.

"I don't care," she pouted. "You're in my house. Can you take it off please? We've all seen your ears before."

Inuyasha sighed as she squealed when he brought his bandanna down. Her fingers quickly moved up to stroke his ears and he leaned into her. The feeling was so relaxing, but it was also sexually stimulating. He was trying with a great amount of difficulty to not harden up in the hallway. But since he knew this might happen he wore briefs today. At least no one could see anything under his flowing hakama pants.

"So…," said Inuyasha as her hands continued stroking, rubbing and scratching his ears, "You said that I needed to get here early to work on the ring project?"

"Oh, yeah…," said Kagome as she dropped her hands to her side and stopped the rubbing. Inuyasha briefly thought about kicking himself for reminding her about something that stopped the wonderful 'petting'.

"Yes," said Kagome as she straightened her hakama pants and looked up at him again smiling. "I need your help with the rings of concealment and we have about an hour before the shrine opens. Come on…," she said as she grabbed his hand and pulled him upstairs to her room. Inuyasha quickly realized that he had never been into her room, at least not in this lifetime. He was happy to see that it was at the same location as her old room in her past life. It even had some of the same decorations. He noticed the pink and yellow floral colors to the room really hadn't changed much in over 30 years. Walking into her room brought up an immense feeling of déjà vu.

"Inuyasha?" asked Kagome.

He looked around the room and was remembering all of the things that had happened here. "I'm sorry," he said. "Just so many memories. Do you remember when I would come on in through the window…?

"Yes," she said grinning. "I always wondered if you ever thought about getting into bed with me…?"

"Oi!" he replied. "Almost every time! But I was an honorable hanyou. I wasn't going to ruin your reputation with my touch."

"Ruin? Whatever are you talking about? You didn't know how much I wanted you to touch me?" she asked.

"Errr…no not really," he added as he watched her walking toward him with a look of purpose on her face.

She moved up next to him and whispered in his ear, her warm breath making his heart beat a little faster. "Ever time I wanted you to come up to me and kiss me…"

She moved her lips next to his and placed a chaste kiss on his lips that seemed to be quivering under hers. "And I wanted you to touch me…," she said as she brought up one of his hands and placed it within the folds of her kimono and helped slide it under and then up so that he could touch her. Inuyasha gulped as his hands touched bare skin.

"She is my fiancé," he thought. "It's really not forbidden…," he reasoned to himself. His hand cupped her breast and moved under her bra to touch her warm skin. His other hand then grasped her back and pulled her against him as his lips met hers again. This time their mouths crashed together and their lips parted to allow their tongues to further explore every crevice of each other's mouths. Inuyasha found that he really couldn't get enough of her taste. With one hand he touched her nipple under her bra, rubbing it and feeling the difference in texture between the soft creamy skin of her breast and then even softer and silker skin of her areola. The other hand caressed the nape of her neck as she moaned in his arms.

"Kagome, Kagome…," her grandmother was calling to her.

"Shit…," he said as he pulled his hand out of her kimono and stopped the warm kiss. He pulled her two hands towards him and kissed them before he moved a respectful distance away from her.

"Kagome…oh there you are," said her grandmother. "I was wondering where you were. You and Inuyasha will be opening up the shrine today…right?"

"Hai, hai!" said Kagome as she waved at her grandmother. "Inuyasha and I just need to work on the concealment rings first."

"Concealment rings?" asked her grandmother.

Kagome smiled and handed her a men's gold ring. "They are rings that hide demonic heritage. If I can make them correctly then Inuyasha won't have to wear a bandanna anymore. He'll be wearing a ring instead.

"We'll be out in one hour grandma. We have a lot of work to do on the rings," said Kagome as Mrs. Hirugashi handed the ring back to her.

"Allright dear. Just remember that you both have shrine duty today," she said as she waved her finger at them and then left leaving her door wide open.

Kagome sighed and blew her bangs away from her forehead. "Here," she said as she handed him the gold ring that Sessomaru had given them earlier and sat down on the floor. "Put it on, I want to see what it does." Inuyasha quickly joined her and sat cross-legged on the floor and then put the ring on his finger.

Kagome gasped. Almost immediately his white hair turned to dark grey and then to a midnight black. His eyes tuned from golden to hazel to violet. Then his wonderful puppy-dog ears melted down the sides of his head to form perfect human ears.

"Wow!" she said. "How do you feel?"

Inuyasha sniffed the air. "I can't smell a thing. It's like my senses are clouded. Just like when I'm fully human on a…"

"…new moon…," she continued for him. "So it makes you human. Do you have any demonic traits?" she asked.

Inuyasha looked down at his hands and noticed that his claws were gone and he only had blunt fingernails. "I don't think so," he added.

"OK. Take it off…," she said as she pulled the gold ring off of his finger.

"Hey!" said Inuyasha as the ring came off and his hair turned white again, his ears returned up to the top of his head twitching from side to side as if in irritation and his beautiful golden eyes returned as well. "You can't just keep doing that. The change hurts a little… Especially my ears…"

"Oh, I'm so sorry," muttered Kagome. "Please forgive me…," she said as she rubbed his ears again.

Inuyasha smiled momentarily at her and then noticed something on her arm that he had never seen before. As she had reached up with her hands her kimono sleeves rode up so that her upper arm was exposed and he could see a large purple bruise there.

"Kagome. Your arm is bruised, what happened?" asked Inuyasha as he grabbed her long kimono sleeve and pulled it back to reveal a large bruise mark on her upper arm and a something that looked like a small matchstick embedded in the middle of the bruise.

"You would have to find that. Wouldn't you?" she murmured with a smile. "Well, I was going to tell you later. But I should tell you now. It's an 'Implanon'."

"An Im-plan-non?" asked Inuyasha in confusion.

Kagome looked up at him shyly and blushed. "Birth control Inuyasha. It works for three years unless it is taken back out again."

"Oi," said Inuyasha as a slow smile started to dawn on his face. He couldn't help but to start to think of ways to test the 'Implanon'. His smile soon became lustfully happy.

"Inuyasha!" yelped Kagome as she playfully smacked his arms. "Come back here!"

"Keh," murmured Inuyasha. "That's great! Great! You've thought of everything."

Kagome eyed him cautiously and then spoke again. "So Inuyasha," she said. "What do you remember about me making these concealment rings? I really don't remember anything."

Inuyasha's lips pursed and his hand was cupping his chin. "All I recall is that you would take the ring in your hand and then you would just glow all pink with your purification power. I had to stay away from you when you did it otherwise I'd be purified out of existence. Somehow you focused your purification power into the ring. When you were done you told me the rings had concentrated purification energy in them."

"Oh," said Kagome. "Now it makes sense. These rings would actually purify the demons in such a way that they lost their demonic traits and became human! But it must be a very precise amount of purification. Too much would kill a demon and too little wouldn't hide the demon-like traits.

"Say," said Kagome. "Didn't you tell me once that when you were in the middle of Mt. Hakurei that the purification power turned you into a human? I bet that my power to purify somehow keeps the beast at bay." She then looked up at Inuyasha sheepishly. "Theoretically speaking of course…"

"Of course Kagome," sighed Inuyasha as he huffed. "Beast! Keh!"

He heard some rustling off to the side and saw Kagome getting out a medium sized black lacquer box. It had Kagome's address written on top of it. The box jingled and shuffled when she moved it.

"Here," she said as she moved the box towards him. "I think you need to see what Sesshomaru sent us."

Inuyasha peered into the box to see hundreds of gold rings. Some were dainty women's rings and some were thick heavy men's rings. There was an assortment of styles and shapes. He briefly thought that perhaps Sesshomaru wouldn't mind if one of them was missing. He saw several rings there with diamonds on them that could easily pass as a wedding ring and he still needed to buy Kagome a wedding ring. On her finger was an engagement ring, he wanted to get her the real thing and he needed to do so soon. Then next to the piles of rings was a small envelope.

"Open it up," said Kagome with a smile.

Inuyasha peered inside the envelope to see two credit cards in there. One was labeled "Moroboshi Inuyasha" and the other one was labeled "Hirugashi Kagome". Next to them was a note that stated that each card was pre-loaded with one million yen.

"What should we do with it?" whispered Kagome.

"Wow! I don't know…I..hey, this will pay for the wedding! I need to get you a ring…the wedding will be expensive. Kimono's alone cost a small fortune….," Inuyasha smiled inwardly. "We're set koibito!" He grinned and hugged her. She smiled and kissed him back on the cheek.

"Alright. But we better not spend it until I can enchant these rings and I have a lot of them to do," she said as she picked up a dozen or so rings out of the box and let them fall back in clinking together softly.

"So you said that I just concentrated on the ring?" asked Kagome as Inuyasha nodded in reply. Kagome picked up a man's gold ring from the box and held it between her fingers. "You better step a few feet away from me. I don't want to purify my fiancé," she said with a grin.

Inuyasha stepped back and inched towards the door. He easily put about three meters between himself and Kagome. Purifying energy always scared him a little and he thought it would be best to distance himself as far away as possible.

He watched her from the side as her she sat down in a lotus position as if she was about to meditate. She clasped the gold band between her two hands and concentrated on putting all of her purification power into the ring. Her aura flared and Inuyasha could see pink tendrils of power flickering around her body and then merging into the ring she held in her hand. She continued concentrating and her pink aura licked her form for another fifteen minutes or so. Finally she sighed and the pink glow that formed all around her dissipated until only the ring in her hand glowed. Then the glow faded as the magic was absorbed into the ring.

Kagome looked a little weak as she gingerly got up and brought up the old ring that had already been enchanted up to the new one she had created. She peered at both rings and Inuyasha realized she was looking at their magical aura. It was something that only a miko could see, but it was an ability she had always possessed.

"Yes, I think it's about right. OK Inuyasha I need you to try another ring on," said Kagome as she turned and gave him the new ring.

Inuyasha let a few colorful curses fly out of his mouth as he grabbed the ring and put it on his finger. The same thing happened again. His adorable puppy ears slid down the sides of his face and became rounded human ears. His silver hair became ebony black and his golden eyes became violet.

Kagome walked up to him and looked at him. "You know I like your violet eyes as well. You know that you are beautiful no matter what your outward appearance is?" said Kagome in appreciation as she kissed him on the lips again.

Inuyasha felt that his senses were cloudy. He couldn't read her scent and he couldn't hear her heart beating as he had before. But he could feel her warm skin against his and her warm lips were pressing down on his again.

"This was kinda fun, actually," he thought. "I can see how Kagome tastes when I am hanyou and when I am human."

Kagome giggled as she broke the kiss. "OK, handsome. We need to go to work on the shrine. It's opening up in fifteen minutes. So do you want the ring on or off?"

"Off," he said as he pulled it off and threw it down in the ground. "I can't smell your scent with it on." He then grinned again and pulled her in for one final kiss before they made their way downstairs.

* * *

It was getting to closing time at the shrine. Inuyasha was starting to get used to his new job that Souta had given him minding the shrine shop. Souta had explained that since Inuyasha and Kagome would someday be running the shrine that he had to get Inuyasha up to speed quickly.

Inuyasha was wearing the grey bandanna again. He hated wearing it because it obscured some of his hearing, but it wasn't as bad as the ring that totally deadened his senses. Still he realized that since the concealment rings were around he would need to start using them more. It would only be a matter of time before his ears were exposed in some sort of mishap. He briefly wondered how he was going to explain to everyone why his hair was black and his eyes were violet. He figured that he would just tell everyone that black was his natural hair color and that his colored contacts were now purple.

Inuyasha sighed. The only good thing about the job was that he could see Kagome all day in her beautiful miko garb. Inuyasha could only guess why, but for some reason seeing her dressed in those red hakama pants, a white kimono and her long wavy black hair draped over her shoulders seductively only made him long for her even more. They had been engaged for over a month now and he still wasn't able to get the girl alone with him. During the day they were usually working at the shrine or taking classes at the University. And at night her grandmother and father were so worried about her that they would watch her every move after the sun went down.

He looked at Kagome wistfully from the shop in the corner of the shrine. She was taking down paper and wooden prayers that had been tied to the God tree and put them in a basket. At the end of the day she would pray that the prayers would be answered as she burned them over an open fire. She pushed a single lock of hair away from her eyes and gently put it behind her ear. Inuyasha wished that he wasn't in the shrine shop and was next to her instead. He noticed that she turned around. Somehow she knew he was looking at her. She turned and smiled at him bashfully to see his adoring gaze.

"How much is this?" a young teenage girl with a bobbed haircut asked as she showed Inuyasha a Shikon Jewel keychain. "Yes, how much?" said two other girls. Each girl was wearing middle school uniforms and they couldn't be more than 13 years-old.

"Oh, uh…500 Yen each," said Inuyasha as he forced his gaze away from the lovely miko and toward the gaggle of girls who were in front of him.

"I want five of them," said one girl.

"I want ten," said another.

"The jewel matches your hair," said another to Inuyasha as she gazed up at his long silver hair that was drawn back into a ponytail.

"My hair?" said Inuyasha befuddled. He took their money and packaged up their shrine trinkets in colorful paper bags that he taped shut.

Kagome looked over to the proceedings. The three girls were eyeing Inuyasha and trying to flirt with him. She giggled. Inuyasha didn't even seem to know what the young teenagers were doing. "He really doesn't know how gorgeous he is," she thought as she walked on over to the shrine shop.

"Inuyasha-kun," she said as she stopped on by the shop and looked in at him. "Come see me when you close up the shop," she said as her eyes lingered over him with appreciation.

"Yes, Kagome," said Inuyasha as his face lit up with pleasure.

The three teenage girls gasped and then sighed. They had gotten the hint and that was all Kagome needed to do. They grabbed their paper packages and walked away sullen. Kagome whistled happily as she walked away, knowing that a certain hanyou was following her every move.

Soon it was closing time and Kagome was happy to see Inuyasha closing up the shop and shuttering the front. Inuyasha locked up the side doors and quickly walked up to Kagome like a loyal puppy dog who had just been called home for dinner.

"You said to see you?" murmured Inuyasha as he pulled behind the miko gathering her up in his arms.

Kagome smiled and reached out a hand behind her trying to get at his dog ears which were under his bandanna. "Damned bandanna," she murmured as she turned around in his arms. "I want to get this off of you." She was almost growling.

Imuyasha paused. "Not in public," he whispered to Kagome. "Where can we go that is private?"

Kagome looked around and spotted the bone eaters well. "In here," she called as she held his hand and dragged him behind her. They quickly made their way inside of the well and then she closed the wooden doors behind her. Once she was inside she found a latch and secured the doors behind her so that they could have some privacy.

Just as the latch was secure and sunlight was no longer pouring in Inuyasha grabbed Kagome. He pushed her against the wall with his mouth firmly devouring hers. He delved his tongue into her just as his body was pushing up against hers and the wall that held up her back. Her arms reached up and pulled the bandanna away as it slipped from her fingers and onto the floor. Her fingers started to play with his ears causing him to moan. All the while their mouths explored each other with wild abandon. Inuyasha's hands started to move up her kimono. One hand found it's way inside and reached in to touch her pert breast. He stroked against her silky areola and her nipple started to harden and pucker as he touched her.

Suddenly he noticed a spike in her scent as a wonderful musky oder that was all Kagome started to drift into his senses. He had already started to harden and now he was fully erect, though unfortunately fully clothed. He couldn't help but to grind himself up against her body that was pinned to the wall.

"I've waited so long for you Kagome," he said breathlessly between kisses.

"Oh," moaned Kagome as he left her lips to kiss down her cheeks and found his way to her ears.

"I know you like this," he said as his lips caressed her ears and the nape of her neck with his tongue. He could only murmur in glee as her scent spiked again with a moan.

Kagome's breathe hitched. Inuyasha suddenly realized that there were things that he knew about Kagome that no one else on the face of this planet could ever know. He knew every curve, every crevice of her body in a way that only a lover of over three hundred years would know. No one knew her body as intimately as he did and with that full knowledge he played her body like a musician plays a well loved instrument.

Just as Inuyasha was going to continue his ministrations Kagome grabbed his shoulders and brought his head down so that she could suck and nip at his ears. He started to groan and he was losing even greater control of his body and his face was up against her breasts. He couldn't help himself as he pushed both hands into the folds of her kimono top and then pushed them apart revealing a lacy white bra and pert breasts. He started to lick around her bra and then dipped his tongue under her bra with both hands pressing up against the fabric. Then while he continued to lick at the valley between her breasts his other hands had unsnapped her bra strap. He quickly ripped the offending cloth away to reveal white pearly breasts with round rosebuds in the center. Both hands and his lips momentarily forgot themselves as he looked at her nakedness in wonder as if he was viewing a Kami. Then both hands moved up to caress a breast in each hand and his mouth sucked on her nipples as if he was a child starved for his mother's milk. He tried to catch as much of her breasts inside of his mouth savoring her goodness.

Then subtly, the evening started to shift. The few random beams of light that made their ways into the well house started to fade away from gold tones to greys until they couldn't be seen anymore.

As Inuyasha was devouring her breasts as his white hair started to turn grey and then changed to a dark molten black. His ears that Kagome had been suckling so intently and blissfully melted away and reformed into human ears at the side of his head. His eyes of gold quickly refocused to become violet.

Kagome wouldn't be dissuaded as she bent down to nibble on his human ears. "You know," she said. "Having you is almost like having two gorgeous lovers. All in one wonderful package…Now since you have my top off I think it is only fair that I can take off your kimono," she said deviously as her hands made their way under his top and tried to push it apart. She felt his hard and warm chest under her fingers. His chest heaving with each breath.

An older womans voice called out and broke up their mood. "Kagome…Kagome…" Evidently Kagome's grandmother was out looking for Kagome now that the sun had set.

"Shit!" said Inuyasha in frustration as he looked up at her and her lovely breasts that were peeking out at him.

Kagome looked down at him dazed as she sighed. She shrugged and then tried to find her bra to put it back on. "There will be other times…"

"How! I can't even get you alone. They're too paranoid about your safety to ever let you alone."

"Oh, I know a time when they will leave me alone with you so that I can ravish you," said Kagome coyly.

"Oi. When wench?" said Inuyasha in frustration.

"Five weeks from now…," she said as she kissed the corners of his mouth. Kagome was referring to their wedding date and the nuptials that would follow.

"Five long damn weeks, too!" said Inuyasha as he readjusted his kimono and helped her readjust hers.

"Maybe we'll find another time to be alone before then," she offered as Kagome re-tied Inuyasha's pony tail and Inuyasha finger brushed her hair as he smoothed it back into place.

He looked up at her and noticed the red flush on her face and the breathless way she was talking.

"I need you Koi. I need you bad. But I'll wait five weeks if I have to. I just won't be very happy about it. Do you know how many blue balls I have been getting lately?" he asked.

She giggled slightly. "I probably shouldn't even know…," she said as she pulled herself against him one last time for a brief kiss. "I love you, Inuyasha…don't forget it. Ever!"

"I love you too, wench!" he said as she laughed and he peered out of the well making sure that Mrs. Hirugashi was out of sight before they left the well.

"Come on…," he said with a sigh as he grabbed her hand and lead her out of the well. Kagome slid the well door behind them as they made their way to her house.

* * *

Hojo had been watching outside in the shadows. His form was indeterminate. He was neither man nor shadow. His form looked more like a wavering black ghost than a human being. He waited behind a tree near the front gates of the shrine, hidden behind the branches and the night's deeper shadows.

He had been following Kagome for several days now. He had gotten to know her predictable routine which included going into the protected shrine before nightfall. He really didn't feel any need to stay where he was for much longer. Kagome would probably be in bed by now. He would have liked to have spied her in bed and perhaps even crept up into her bedroom. However, there were warding sutras and holy magic protecting the shrine. The holy magic kept him away and all he could do was spy at the entrance wondering if Kagome would show herself again.

All he could do was growl in frustration. Every time he saw her she was with him! That filthy half-breed that stole his girl away from him! That boy would need to be dealt with. Hojo grinned at the thought of choking the life out of him. Then once the boy was dead he could have Kagome. Naraku had offered her to him. He would have Kagome forever. Somehow Naraku was going to bind her soul to his so that she would live with him for eternity. He just needed to wait and be patient. She would be with him soon.

"What's this?" he thought as he watched a young man leave the Torii gates of the Hirugashi Sunset Shrine. Hojo almost didn't recognize him. It was Inuyasha, but he looked different. He was still wearing the same clothes he had worn when he had arrived, a red kimono and black hakama pants with an old sword at his side. Yes, this was him. But his hair was black and his dog-like ears were now human in appearance. Something strange was going on. He didn't know what was happening, but he would need to tell Naraku. Nothing ever seemed to surprise Naraku. Hojo looked up at the bright stars and saw the shadowy reflection of the black new moon on the horizon as his shadowy form wavered and disappeared into the inky blackness of the night.

* * *

_**Next Chapter:** Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango and Sesshomaru. There will also be an appearance by two more Inuyasha canon characters. See you next week. Read and Review._

_**Contest:** The next contest is on. When you review guess two Inuyasha canon characters who have **NOT** showed up yet. You can only have two guesses. The person who has the closest guess will get the next unedited chapter e-mailed to them a week before everyone else can see it._

_**Author's Notes:**_

_#1: An Implanon is a real form of birth control. They insert a matchstick sized rod under the skin and it releases progestin for three years—preventing pregnancy. Kagome is a smart girl and hearing about the twelve kids she had in a past life made her think that getting birth control would be a good idea._

_#2: I wanted to mention a good fanfict to read for each chapter. There are so many good ones out there. Here's one that amazed me recently: 'The Demons Within Us' by White Dire Wolf. It's a little dark, very well written and of course it's about Inuyasha and Kagome. (I couldn't read an Inuyasha fanfict unless my favorite characters were paired up.)_

#3: One million Yen About 10,000 USD

_**Special thanks to the following reviewers:**_

_Purple-Converse-AllStar: Glad you're happy with Miroku and Sango getting back together. They are my second favorite couple._

_Blackdeathmessenger: Thanks for the encouragement to write. I really need an occasional kick in the pants to get my writing done._

_Kovia: OK. ROTFL. Seriously, would you like to write up a chibi 'Inuyasha 2030' and I could attach it to the end of this after the Epilogue? If you're interested write one up and I'll post it after the story is done._

_sofiakalaughable: I hope you enjoyed this chapter on Inuyasha and Kagome. More Inu/Kag goodness to come…_


	13. Chapter 13: Dogs and Wolves

**Chapter 13: Dogs and Wolves**

_Adults only please. I didn't mean to have any citrus in this chapter. Oops… It just happened. I couldn't control Kagome…_

* * *

"Moshi Moshi. Sunset Shrine," said Inuyasha mechanically as he answered the phone at the Sunset Shrine gift shop. He was on duty attending the shrine shop again and he was getting comfortable with his job, albeit extremely bored.

"Hey Mutt-face. Where's Kagome?" said a lazy masculine voice.

"Wolf-shit?" Inuyasha blanched a bit. He had not been expecting a call from his old rival the wolf demon. Still when he thought about it to himself he guessed that he should have expected it. "She's mine you scrawny wolf. Don't you even think about sniffing around here!"

"Hey, chill out mangy mutt. Can't a guy see Kagome? Besides Ayame is here and she wants to visit as well?"

"Ayame?"

"Yes, my mate. Remember--Ayame --shit brain?"

Inuyasha relaxed visibly but you could still see some tension on his face.

"So were you trying to get here all by yourself, but Ayame got wind of your little scheme and decided to tag along?"

"Something like that…," drawled the wolf demon nonchalantly.

"You already have a mate…what the hell were you thinking?"

He could hear a shrug on the other end of the line. "I was hoping you wouldn't be around mutt-face. Too bad…It would have been nice."

Inuyasha growled. "Don't you even think about it!"

"I'll think about it all I want. You'd do the same thing in my shoes."

Inuyasha had to think about what his life would have been like if he did not remember Kagome and if he had already been married. And then what if he remembered Kagome then? What would he do? He frowned. He would feel guilty, but he would probably divorce his wife and run to Kagome. He supposed he could understand what Koga was thinking.

"Just keep away from her, you mangy wolf."

The wolf demon sighed. "Not going to happen. Ayame is with me and she's very insistent on seeing Kagome. You know it's a girl thing…"

"Ayame really wants to see Kagome?"

"Yeah, yeah…" responded the wolf. "We're out front when can you guys come see us?"

"Nothing is stopping you wolf-shit. You can walk right on in here…"

"No, we can't," answered the wolf. "There are some very powerful holy sutras all over this shrine that prevent us from getting in. How the hell are you in there?"

Inuyasha had to stop and think for a moment. Of course Kagome had put sutras all over the shrine to protect it from demonic attacks. It made sense that a demon couldn't get in and Koga was a full demon. But why hadn't it affected him? He was half-demon. Maybe it only affected full demons?

"I don't know why it doesn't effect me," Inuyasha shrugged. "Tell you what wolf-shit. There's a coffee house down the road called 'Coffee House Catseye' we'll meet you there at 4PM. OK?"

"See ya mutt-face!" sighed the wolf on the other end of the receiver before the line went dead.

"Great! Koga!" murmured Inuyasha in disdain as he put the phone back on its hook.

* * *

Kagome and Inuyasha had made their way into 'Coffee House Catseye'. Kagome was still wearing her white and red miko garb. Inuyasha matched her nicely with his red kimono, black hakama pants, a grey bandana and sword at his side. They both looked like they could have stepped out of the pages of an Edo period textbook.

Koga and Ayame both grinned at them from a booth in the coffee house. Kagome stopped to notice them since their features had changed over the past 200 years since she had last seen them. Both Koga and Ayame looked like they were in their 40's, but they were still both impressive in their wild beauty. Koga had a few grey hairs in his long black hair that was tied in a ponytail, however his blue eyes still sparkled and were mesmerizing. Ayame had some streaks of white in her brilliant red hair but her emerald eyes looked just as young as when Kagome had last seen the wolf demoness. Their outfits were also thoroughly modern, which for some reason shocked Kagome. She was expecting to see Koga and Ayame dressed in furs rather than the sporting goods clothing that they were wearing. Both of them were dressed in T-shirts, nylon pants, nylon jackets and hiking boots. They both looked like they were about to hit a hiking trail rather than spend their day in the big city of Tokyo.

Koga was the first to get up and grasp Kagome's hands. "You're looking as beautiful as ever Kagome. How's mutt-face been treating you?"

Inuyasha growled and Kagome looked Koga straight in the eye. "Inuyasha has been absolutely wonderful and we are getting married in one month."

Inuyasha sported a gleeful grin and Koga blanched slightly, but was able to recover. "Ah, Kagome. You remember my mate, Ayame?"

Kagome's brilliant smile beamed sunshine all around the room as she broke her contact with Koga and ran up to Ayame squealing before hugging the wolf demoness in a tight grip.

Koga looked at Inuyasha as the female pairs started to make up for lost time laughing and squealing as if no time had passed since the last time they had met over 200 years ago.

"So mutt-face. You haven't mated with her yet. I can tell by her scent," Koga looked at him with a feral grin. "That means she is still up for grabs."

"Why you…," yelled Inuyasha as he tried to control his temper and his fists flexed by his side wanting to hit Koga.

Suddenly Kagome and Ayame were between the two.

"I should have known not to leave you two alone," said Kagome as she stood between the two men and then kissed Inuyasha affectionately on the cheek. "Don't you dare egg him on Koga. I won't stop him the second time."

"Aw…," drawled out Koga. "I was hoping you'd tell him to 'SIT' just like old times."

Ayame grabbed Koga's arms and pulled him towards the table with Kagome pulling an equally upset hanyou after her.

The two girls were smiling warmly at each other as the men both sat back in their chairs with folded arms and frowns on their faces.

Kagome began in her attempt to lighten the mood and to start a conversation. "Inuyasha, Ayame just told me that Koga and her started a Backpacking Adventure company…"

Koga added, "Yes, we take these wimpy humans on trips to the wilderness. The idiots don't even know how to fend for themselves. But luckily Ayame, me and our kids protect them and show them a good time."

"Kids?" asked Kagome with a smile.

Ayame grinned as she spoke, "Yes, we have six kids and almost all of them help us out with the business. Our oldest is a little over 400 years old and our youngest is 25."

"Wow!" said Kagome and then she suddenly remembered that she had twelve kids herself. "Ummm…do either of you know what happened to my kids? I guess they can't be living anymore. But maybe my great-grandkids…?"

Ayame looked meaningfully at Koga who shrugged. "Kagome-chan. My son, Kyou, mated with your youngest daughter Hitomi after you died. Because she mated with my son—she is still alive. You also still have some grandchildren and great-grandchildren around."

Kagome gasped and Inuyasha just held her hand. "My daughter is still alive? We have to meet her! My grandchildren? Great-grandchildren?" Kagome was almost hyper-ventilating and Inuyasha kept on squeezing her hand in an attempt to calm her.

"We'll bring them up to Tokyo next weekend Kagome-chan—if that is alright with you?" asked Ayame with concern and a look of motherly love. "Hitomi has been a wonderful daughter-in-law. She has all of your compassion."

"And shit-brain's temper…," added Koga as he looked at his nails.

Ayame hit him on the shoulders.

"What?" asked Koga in honest surprise.

"You are so dense sometimes…," added Ayame as she looked into his blue eyes, her love for him still glowing brightly after 500 years. "But I still love you." She bent over to kiss him on the lips as Koga sat up a little straighter and stopped crossing his arms. Koga briefly smiled at her and then looked up at Kagome and Inuyasha as his smile quickly faded.

"Ayame wanted to tell you guys about Hitomi and I wanted to ask Kagome for a favor," said Koga.

Inuyasha pulled Kagome closer to himself as Koga spoke.

"Oh, mutt-face. Nothing to get upset about," he said as he put ten rings on the table. "We need more concealment rings. Hitomi had a few kids as well as the rest of our pack. It's been over 200 years since we have been able to get any new rings and it's been hard on my pack just to get around. We've been sharing the rings that we have, but it also means that our younger members cannot live normal lives…"

Kagome smiled thoughtfully as she put her hand on top of the small pile of rings. "I understand Koga. I will enchant them for you. Please leave me a business card so that I know where to mail them to you. I will try to get this done in a week, but I am also working on Sesshomaru's order and he gave me about 1000 rings to enchant."

"Yeah, that's how we found out that you reincarnated Kagome. Sesshomaru is basically our demonic spokesperson in Japan. When he announced that he had found a miko who could make more rings I knew it was you. So I questioned him and found out where you are currently living," said Koga.

Ayame added, "I get the feeling that you will be getting further inquiries from other parties pretty soon. You don't know how much we need these rings Kagome."

Inuyasha was suddenly happy that the shrine could keep demons from entering. At least she could be kept away from demonic hordes wanting concealment rings while she was within the shrine structure.

Koga fished into his wallet and handed Kagome a business card.

Kagome glanced over the white card which had a stylized picture of a wolf howling at the moon near a campsite. "Wolf Country Backpack Tours," she read. "Thank you Koga. I will keep it. Maybe if everything is done in a week I can give the rings to all of you then?"

"Yes, Kagome-chan. That would be wonderful," said Ayame.

Kagome pursed her lips and looked up at Inuyasha. "Since you have asked me for a favor, I have one to ask you as well…"

Koga looked up and was suddenly very interested in the conversation.

"Naraku has returned. I need to know why he is attacking me and what he is up to. Can you help me?" she asked plaintively.

Koga and Ayame both stiffened up and nodded as Kagome explained everything that had recently happened with Naraku.

* * *

Inuyasha's day had been particularly long and it was now after dusk as he was walking home. Today he had helped Kagome with more concealment rings, worked at the shrine gift shop, and had met up with Koga and Ayame. Inuyasha growled. Now he would have to see them next weekend as well! Still at least he could see his daughter again. He thought about Hitomi and how she looked after she was born, held in her mother's arms. All of their kids had small little dog ears on their heads and Hitomi had looked more like Kagome than any of their children. He could see why Koga's kid would be attracted to her. He briefly felt the need to kick the shit out of Kyou for trying to mate with Hitomi but then realized it was all in the past and that they had already mated. They had even had children! Then he realized, they were both older than he was. Still he had over 300 years of memories. His body was young, but his mind was much older.

"My daughter, Kagome's daughter…," he thought. Then he thought of his current life and the children he might have with Kagome. He smiled at the thought. He had been shocked in his past life when he found out his mate was with pup so soon after their wedding. In fact he was in a state of shock for nine months while Kagome's belly and breasts swelled. Then this perfect little hanyou with small black ears and black hair like her mother's was born. He couldn't help but to love the little pup. She looked so much like her mother. He smiled. He wouldn't mind being a Dad again. After the initial shock wore off he found that he loved fatherhood and knowing that he would never be alone again since he now had a pack to love and care for.

Inuyasha was making his way to the Moroboshi Buddhist temple when he spotted a black stretched limo parked in front of his house. That in itself was a curiosity. He started to sniff the air in order to find out some information about the occupant inside. He smelled the scent of rubber tires, asphalt, the smell of a new car interior and car wax. He also caught the scent of two people, one was human and one was a full demon. He sniffed again. It was a familiar scent, it smelled like a member of his pack, it was…

Sesshomaru stepped out of the limo. His concealment ring had to be in place since his long black hair hung over his shoulders and fell to his waist. He still had the same aristocratic bearing, but he had no outward markings on his face. He was wearing a smart grey three piece business suit that hung nicely against his tall frame. "Inuyasha…," he intoned almost without emotion as he looked at his son with an impassioned face.

Inuyasha didn't want to give him the satisfaction of calling him 'Dad' so instead opted to call him, "Sesshomaru…" Inuyasha stood back and crossed his arms. "Why are you here?"

Sesshomaru frowned and looked straight into Inuyasha's eyes. "Can't a father see his son?"

Inuyasha snorted. "That's ripe. Eighteen years without a word and now you show up and expect to have a lovely family reunion?"

"I didn't even know that you were born until over a month ago when I felt the pulse of the Tetsusaiga in Tokyo. I had been in Kyoto at the time—but I quickly took up residence in Tokyo. So I waited until I felt the Tetsusaiga come alive again and I was finally able to see you. I had only been with Rin for one night. I didn't know that she was going to have a child. I would have taken care of both of you if I had known."

"You would have made her have an abortion if you had known…you made it quite clear to her when you met her that you never wanted a half-breed child," answered Inuyasha with disdain.

Sesshomaru frowned again. "The choice to have a child would have remained with her alone. Though I have actively dissuaded her from having children all of these years."

"Mom wanted a kid more than anything else in the world. She wanted more children Sesshomaru. That's probably why she left you after one night. You couldn't be the father of her children. You couldn't stand to father a half-breed."

"Inuyasha," Sesshomaru intoned. "That is the past. You are here. I am your father and I take my responsibilities seriously."

"Fuck your responsibilities Sesshomaru. I don't need you as a father. I lived without you for eighteen years and I can live without you for the rest of my life."

"Be reasonable Inuyasha…," said Sesshomaru as Inuyasha walked on by him and up the gates to the Moroboshi Temple.

Sesshomaru walked behind him to follow and was then stopped by a powerful holy barrier.

Inuyasha smirked as he walked into his front door. "Kagome put sutras all over this place. No demons allowed…" Then he turned and slammed the door behind him.

Sesshomaru simply stared at the door with an ice-like expression before he turned to get back into his limo and asked the driver to take him back home.

* * *

_The night that followed had Inuyasha dreaming nightmares. He dreamed of Sesshomaru attacking him with venomous green poison dripping off of his fingertips. He saw rather than felt Sesshomaru's claws bury themselves deep within his body as he tried to protect Kagome. As Sesshomaru pulled out his arm a gaping bloddy hole was left in Inuyasha's mid-section. He also dreamed of Naraku with his leering pale face and long black hair. Naraku also attacked him in his dreams. But then Naraku noticed Kikyo and Kagome. Inuyasha screamed as Naraku's tentacles took down Kikyo and then Kagome. Both women were looking up at him blankly as blood oozed from their bodies and mouths. Their heartbeats were stilled as their bodies lay in broken heaps in front of him. Naraku just laughed as he saw Inuyasha's utter fear at the tragedy that had unfolded in front of him. 'You cannot protect them. You will always fail…' the voice intoned._

"Nooooo!" Inuyasha screamed as he woke up. It was the first time in the past month that he had woken up to a nightmare rather than erotically charged dreams of him making love to Kagome. He buried his face in his hands and noticed for the first time that he was bathed in sweat.

He felt terrified, but he also felt angry. Koga and Sesshomaru had both showed up on the same day which pissed him off immensely. And somehow he was feeling guilty about how he had treated Sesshomaru. As if he should ever feel guilty about that bastard he thought. Then there was Kagome. He still had not mated with her and it was driving him insane. He growled and snarled as he made his way to the family bathroom .

After he was dressed and ready in his usual hakama and kimono he joined Kagome at her family shrine. He was short with her during their entire commute to the University that morning.

"What's wrong, Inuyasha?" she asked with concern as she touched his shoulder.

"Nothing wench…," he said with anger.

A mask drew itself across Kagome's face and the anger that was behind it unnerved the hanyou.

"Nothing…Inuyasha?" she asked with silent fury. The anger that lied behind her words was too scary to ignore.

Inuyasha capitulated. "I…errr…First it's Naraku then it's Koga and then Sesshomaru…," said Inuyasha.

"Sesshomaru? When did Sesshomaru show up?" asked Kagome.

"The bastard showed up last night at my home after I dropped you off. He said he wanted to 'see his son' and wanted to be 'responsible'. As if I care!"

Kagome grabbed his arm as he tried to pull away from her. "But you do care, don't you, Inuyasha?" she asked as she peered up at him with her round expressive chocolate eyes. "Don't push him away. How would you feel if Hitomi pushed us away? We've been out of her life for 200 years. She doesn't have to accept us."

Inuyasha frowned and considered the possibilities. "Oi, it would hurt like hell," he thought if Hitomi or any of their children wouldn't want to see them. "Feh. I guess I was a little hard on him…"

"What did you tell him Inuyasha?"

"Keh. I told him to fuck himself…"

"Oh…Inuyasha, we really need to work on your people skills…," said Kagome. "But first I think we need to work on the tension that has you so stressed."

"I am not stressed, Kagome," said Inuyasha as he folded up his arms.

"Yes, you are…," intoned Kagome as she reached up under his bandanna and started to stroke his ears. Inuyasha started to visibly relax as her hands worked their wonders.

"Come on Inuyasha," she said as she grabbed his hand and pulled him along behind her. "I know just the thing to get rid of your stress."

All of the sudden the tension in his jaw and back resurfaced as Kagome stopped stroking his ears and he felt incredibly irritable again as she dragged him through the hallways of the University.

"Here, the janitor's closet…," she murmured. "I've been keeping an eye on this door for weeks it's never locked."

"Why are you keeping an eye on the janitor's closet?" asked Inuyasha as he felt himself being pulled into the small enclosed spot. It was filled with paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning equipment and a mop that hung dry in the corner. Kagome quickly closed the door behind them and hit the light switch.

Kagome then slid up next to him and started to breath in his fuzzy ear. "I thought we might need some privacy. Especially for what I am about to do…"

"What are you about to do, Kagome…," asked Inuyasha as his anger and irritation started to take a back seat to his curiosity.

Kagome ripped off his bandanna and let it drop to the floor as she stroked his ears. She traced the outside edges his ears and then started to scratch the bases of his ears. Then she stroked each ear up and down feeling the velvety softness of his ears between her fingertips. Inuyasha's eyes started to become heavy-lidded and his stiff posture eased. Soon her hands started to fumble with the ties to his hakama.

"What are you doing…humpf…," asked Inuyasha as Kagome's lips pressed themselves up against his. After a long lingering kiss she pulled back momentarily to bring her lips to nibble on his neck and he started to moan.

"I'm helping you get rid of your….," She was pulling at his hakama ties and they fell apart. His hakama pooled at his ankles. "…tension…" she murmured.

She pressed herself right up against him as she continued to fondle his ears and kissed his neck and upper chest. She felt his hardness against her straining through his briefs. Then both hands moved down to pull his briefs down and he kicked out of them. He stood there before her, fully erect and throbbing with his red juban still covering up most of his chest.

Kagome's hands explored their way down his chest and then started to stroke his hard cock. She suckled and kissed her way down from his neck to his collarbone. She fingered and kissed his nipples which hardened as she licked them. Then her mouth started a downward plunge from his hard abdominal planes to his navel which she lingered at as her tongue drew circles around his navel languidly. Then she moved her mouth further down and kissed against silver curls until she reached a bobbing hard cock that was flushed red-brown.

As she started to lick around his cock like it was an ice cream cone Inuyasha started to moan. His legs were wobbly, but he felt that he could still stand as he received her ministrations. Then her warm and wet mouth covered his hard length and suckled on it gently. Then she moved her mouth up and down in the most agonizing and beautiful way. All he could do was to let his head fall back and beg her not to stop.

He felt all of the stress and tension that he felt yesterday leave his jaw and back until they wound themselves down to the base of his penis. His balls started to tighten and he felt that he was going to loose it.

"Ka-go-me…," he yelled as his member let loose in her mouth and spasmed in pure bliss.

"Oh Kami…," he murmured. "Shit that was good…," he said as he bent down to lift her up and used his juban to wipe away her mouth. Then he kissed her and he tasted himself in her mouth. Somehow he liked the taste. It was almost as if he had scent marked her. Too bad that it was her mouth and not another part of her anatomy he thought ruefully.

He then wrapped his arms around her, with his hakama pants still pooled to the floor.

"Thank you koishi," he said. "I needed that."

She turned and looked up at him with her brilliant smile and stroked his ears again. "Anytime, koi, anytime…"

Inuyaha suddenly noticed that he felt very relaxed. All of the tension that had pooled in his body was washed away. Even Koga's comment about not yet mating with Kagome didn't seem to bother him now. It was amazing what a little well timed blow job could do for a man.

He pulled on his underwear and tied up his hakama. Kagome helped him adjust his juban and bandanna. Then she kissed him again warmly as he looked down on the petite woman he was going to marry in one month.

"So when do I get to return the favor?" asked Inuyasha as he arched his eyebrows suggestively.

"Hummmm…," murmured Kagome as she nuzzled into his neck with his head nestling her head underneath. "Name the time and the place koishi and I'll be there to collect," she said with a grinning smile.

"I'm lucky to have you koi," he said as he stroked her face and enjoyed one more kiss from her as they hastily left the closet and made their way to their respective classes—albeit over twenty minutes late.

* * *

_**Author's Notes:**_

_#1: Coffee House Catseye is seen in Tsusaka Hojo's City Hunter and Cat's Eye manga. The coffee house was originally run by three sisters who were international thieves (Catseye) and then was taken over by Miki and Umibozo (City Hunter)._

_#2: Sorry. I meant to put Miroku and Sango in this chapter as well. But then Kagome got Inuyasha in the janitor's closet and well…I just couldn't control those two…I hope you don't mind…_

_#3: 500 years have past since the Sengoku Jidai time period. Inuyasha and Kagome lived for 300 years after that. So it has been about 200 years since they have seen their compatriots._

_#4: Koi means both 'carp' (i.e. Koi fish) and love. A term of endearment._

**_Contest Winner! tokio-japan543!_**

_As you can probably tell from the chapter the Inuyasha Canon characters who shows up for the first time in my story were Koga and Ayame. So tokio-japan543 was the winner and she was able to get this week's unedited chapter a week ahead of schedule as her prize. I'll keep on thinking about another contest in the near future._

_**Next Chapter:**_

_More Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku and Sango. Maybe even another appearance by Sesshomaru. Read and Review. See you next week.  
_

_**Special thanks to the following reviewers:**_

_Tori Rex:Yes, poor Inuyasha is definitely sexually frustrated right now. But Kagome did help him out a little in this chapter. Will they wait one more month for the wedding or not? Well, he did tell her that he wanted to 'return the favor'... Shippo might still show up sometime… :-)_

_Blackdeathmessenger: You know, I was worried that someone wouldn't get both correct and that I would have to hand out the unedited chapter to everyone who guessed 'Koga' but luckily there was a winner! I also wanted to tell you that I have looked at the summary of the Inuyasha story you are writing. I wanted to read it, but then I found out it was Sango/Inuyasha. And I just can't read a story without a Kagome/Inuyasha pairing. I'd like to support your stories though. I just voted for you to write an Inuyasha story (and of course I am voting for a Inu/Kags pairing!) Please let me know if you write a story like that and I'll be your first reviewer!_

_misskiki28: Glad that you are enjoying it!_

_tokio-japan543: You're the winner! Awesome guess! I hope you enjoyed the advance chapter. It did change slightly before the final posting._

_Nabikineum: Three cheers for encouraging Kovia to write a chibi story! I also adore 'Demons Within Us'. I'm hoping that it will actually get finished one day…_

_sofiakalaughable: OK. More Inuyasha and Kagome in the next chapter. He did say something about trying to return the favor…so I guess we'll just have to see what he has planned…_

_Kovia: Please channel your energy into 'Chibi Inuyasha 2030' if you have the time. If you don't I completely understand. But it would be a great and funny read._


	14. Chapter 14: Swords, Rings, Sais & Things

**Swords, Rings, Sais and Things**

Life was good. Inuyasha looked down at Kagome who was sitting beside him next to the Goshinboku tree in its dappled shade. He was leaning back against the tree with his arms folded behind his head. It gave him a wonderful view of Kagome sitting beside him. She was wearing a yellow halter top summer dress that accentuated all of her feminine curves. And most importantly it allowed her beautiful long legs to peep out of the hem so that he could admire them as well.

Yes, he had started out the previous day in a funk. But then Kagome (being Kagome) had managed to turn his entire viewpoint around 180 degrees after a little interlude in a closet. He looked down at her and noticed how the top of her dress pulled up tight around her breasts. He also noticed where he could see the outline of her panties under her sunny dress. This got him off on a tangent about what sort of underwear she was wearing and how he could get them off of her. Their little tryst yesterday only had him wanting something more substantial. But for now he was content just to look.

OK maybe not so content just to look…

"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yes?" said Kagome as she looked away from the four rectangular black lacquer boxes next to her and looked up into Inuyasha's eyes.

Her beautiful deer brown eyes met up with his golden eyes and he couldn't help but to place his hands on either side of her face and then gently tilt her up for a kiss. The first kiss was measured, gentle and slow. Then their lips met again and he moaned as his mouth met hers. He entered the wetness of her mouth and tasted her sweetness. He just wanted so much more than a kiss. He pulled away briefly to press his forehead gently against hers.

"Kagome you said to name a time and a place?"

"Yes, Inuyasha?" she replied breathlessly.

"What about tonight?" he asked.

"How?" she answered. "I can't leave the shrine."

"Your room…tonight…koishi…?" he asked.

Kagome grinned and blushed all at the same time. "Do you think that you can keep from making a lot of noise?"

"I'll try…", he said with a shit-eaten grin on his face.

"No howling. My Dad would throw a fit if he found out," she added as she pursed her lips and kissed him again affectionately.

"Oi! I can't howl wench?" he asked in mock exasperation as he nuzzled up to her neck and put his hands around her waist.

"What was this about howling I heard?" asked Miroku with a grin as he walked toward them holding Sango's hand.

Inuyasha pulled away from Kagome. "Feh. Nothing…you didn't hear anything…" he said as he turned away and folded him arms inside of his kimono top.

Kagome was blushing when she turned to notice that Sango also wore a pink blush as well that went from ear to ear. Sango seemed a little embarrassed while Miroku's steady steps belied a quiet confidence. His face was also lit up with a smile that positively beamed inner happiness.

"So Sango, when did this start?" Kagome asked with a smile as she motioned to the two of them holding hands.

Sango blushed and then quickly pulled her hand away from Miroku. "Oh nothing has happened…," said Sango as she blushed and tried to look anywhere but at Miroku.

Miroku sighed and then sat down next to Kagome and Inuyasha. "Sango dearest, would you sit down next to me?"

"Will you keep your hands to yourself, hentai?" asked Sango with her arms crossed.

"Oh, you wound me woman!" said Miroku as he feigned an arrow being shot through his heart. Sango sighed and sat down next to him. Kagome noticed that they were almost brushing up next to each other. They weren't cuddling, but they were certainly sitting a lot closer than mere friends would do.

"Thanks for coming guys," said Kagome. "I have a few presents that I wanted to hand out to everyone who has been helping to protect me. I bought these items with some of the money Sesshomaru gave me for enchanting some rings. But I did something special with these gifts."

"Oh what exactly did you do to them that was special Kagome?" asked Miroku.

"Let's see if you can tell Miroku, since you're the only one here who can," said Kagome with a smile.

Kagome pulled out the first lacquer box that wasn't as long as the others. She opened the box to expose two sharpened sais and she handed the box to Sango.

Miroku took a sai and lifted it up to examine it. "These sais don't seem normal. They seem to have some sort of aura," said Miroku. "In fact I would say it is a holy aura."

"I was hoping that you might be able to tell!" beamed Kagome. "When I started to create the rings of concealment for Sesshomaru I found out that by channeling my purification power into a ring that a demon could be changed into a human just by wearing the ring. The rings that I created have a precise amount of purification power. Not too much otherwise the demon would be purified and not too little otherwise the demon wouldn't look human enough. With these weapons I put an immense amount of purification power into them. I am quite sure that they will purify any demon that they came into contact with."

Kagome then picked up one of the longer rectangular boxes and opened it up to reveal a long katana that was sheathed in magnolia wood. She handed the first box to Inuyasha and then handed a similar one to Miroku and Sango. Sango took out the long katana and tested the blade's sharpness with a strand of her hair which was neatly sliced by the katana's edge. Miroku stood up and asked Sango if she wouldn't mind doing a kata with him. Sango soon followed Miroku to a clearing away from the Goshinboku tree as she imitated his kata movements.

"Oi wench. Why are you giving one of these purification swords? Are you trying to kill me?" asked Inuyasha.

"No, koi," said Kagome as she kissed him playfully on the cheek. "You might remember that there is one night every month when the Tessaiga does not work."

"Oi," Inuyasha replied with his arms still crossed.

"So this is a sword that you can use only then, while you are in your human form. I remember being in too many battles where your Tessaiga didn't work when you were in human form and you couldn't fight back. Remember the spider heads and the peach man?" asked Kagome as she peered up at Inuyasha.

"Keh. Don't remind me," added Inuyasha in a huff.

"This sword can be used at that time and at that time only. I want you to have it by your side every night of the new moon. I want you to have an enchanted sword while you are human. I know it's not as powerful as the Tessaiga, but it's all that I could do."

Inuyasha smiled down at Kagome. "Thank you koi, I just hope that I never need this."

"I hope that you never need it as well. But I want you safe," said Kagome.

"Keh. That's my line!" answered Inuyasha as he pulled Kagome close to him and smirked. Then his face took on a more serious look and he bent his head down to kiss her lightly on the cheeks. "I'd never let you come to any harm, koi. I'll protect you with my life."

Kagome looked back up at him. "I know. I love you, too Inuyasha."

"Keh," he said as he stroked her cheek and then stood up and motioned for her to take his hand. "I need to teach those two on how to properly wield a sword." Inuyasha left the 'purification' sword at the base of the tree, since he wouldn't be able to wield it now anyway and moved toward Miroku and Sango with his battered Tessaiga in hand.

"Oi. That's not how you wield a sword! Try this move," said Inuyasha with a smirk as he showed them a more rough and tumble version of the kata they were doing.

Inuyasha then spent the greater part if the afternoon working with Miroku and Sango on their swordfighting techniques. Miroku had been trained in kendo since he was a child, so he had the movements down. But Miroku lacked the finer pointers that practical experience could bring. Sango was used to her sais, so the sword in her hand had a different weight and balance that she was trying to get used to. Still she had had at least a little practice with a sword since she picked up on Inuyasha's techniques quicker than Miroku did.

After about an hour of sword practice Kagome interrupted. "How about a little break guys?" she said while carrying out a tray with water glasses, rice balls and slices of oranges.

"Oi wench, no ramen?" asked Inuyasha plaintively.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "You can't have ramen for every meal, Inuyasha."

"Keh, you started me on ramen, remember?"

"Yes, I remember," she added. "I still can't believe that you ate up that ramen in the middle of a battlefield with dead bodies all around us."

"Keh. They were dead. They didn't care," Inuyasha said as he grinned and popped a rice ball in his mouth.

Kagome set down her tray near the Goshinboku tree and everyone sat down next to the tray.

"I wonder what Naraku is trying to accomplish," said Kagome as she contemplate d the rice ball in her hands.

Miroku looked thoughtful. "Whatever he means to do it would require you, Kagome. Do you perhaps have the Shikon Jewel imbedded within you again?"

Kagome looked up at Miroku. "No, it is not within me. I would be able to sense it if I did. No, I do not think it even exists anymore. After Inuyasha's wish it disappeared from this reality."

"Do you think the heart of Onigumo is causing him to want to kidnap you?" asked Sango.

Inuyasha was looking extremely uncomfortable as he growled and Kagome answered.

"No, I don't think that is what he is after. He seems weaker than before. I think power is what he desires," added Kagome.

"So why you?" added Miroku. "If it is related to you it must have something to do with the jewel."

"But it doesn't exist anymore," added Kagome in confusion.

"Tell me Kagome," intoned Miroku. "How was the shikon no tama created?"

Kagome's eyes widened slightly. "It was created when a powerful miko fought a half demon. The shikon jewel came into existence from Midoriko's attempt to seal away the demon she had fought."

"So perhaps Naraku is looking for a way to re-create a shikon jewel?"

"No!" yelled Inuyasha. "It's not happening. She's staying here by my side."

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha and put her arm around him and traced circles on the small of his back. He seemed a little less tense after her deliberate rubs.

"Your guess is as good as any Miroku," Kagome then turned to look at Inuyasha. "But at least I have all of you here protecting me."

"Keh," said Inuyasha as he folded his arms in his sleeves again looking a little proud. His eyes shined as they looked at Kagome.

Miroku stood up and picked up three lacquer boxes. "I think we should be going now. Well, my dearest Sango. Can I escort you to your house?"

"I don't need an escort, Hoshi," she said defensively.

"Then would you accede to my company?" said Miroku non-pulsed as he reached for her hand.

"Whatever," said Sango. However, she didn't fight Miroku holding her hand. In fact she seemed to be squeezing his hand even tighter as they walked away.

Inuyasha watched them walking away and pouted. "I've been protecting you the most and all I got was a sword just like Miroku. Don't I deserve a little special thanks?" he said as he eyed her suggestively.

Kagome smiled back at him and handed him a small bag that jingled. "Why don't you give these rings to Sesshomaru and tell him that I will finish up the rest within a month."

Inuyasha started to protest as Kagome moved closer to him and put an arm around his trim waist. Then her other hand moved up to stroke his ear. "After you are done with your errand you can come visit me tonight. I'll leave my window open," she murmured. Inuyasha felt her body next to his. The thin fabric of the cotton dress barely contained the warmth and softness that was underneath. He felt her soft breasts pressing against him and he smelled the scent that was all Kagome. He leaned over to smell her hair and sighed.

"Oi, koi," said Inuyasha as he hugged her tight. "You don't know what you do to me. I'll be back later tonight."

Kagome pulled away and smiled at him. Then she walked away as he looked at her backside and her long legs that gracefully swayed from side to side under her yellow summer dress. He whistled to himself as he picked up a black lacquer box.

He would have to face Sesshomaru today. But there would be one hell of a reward after that!

* * *

Inuyasha looked down at the small thin telephone in his hands. His humiliation would never end. First he had to call Koga and ask for Sesshomaru's phone number. Koga's drawling voice and subtle teasing was bad enough. But then he had to call Sesshomaru and ask to meet him. Sesshomaru's voice was as impenetrable and even as usual. However, after a quick phone call he had been told to meet Sesshomaru at the 'Seventh Heaven' restaurant in downtown Tokyo.

He paused and put the phone back on its razor thin hook on the wall. He didn't know what sort of clothes he should be wearing, but he guessed that his 'shrine' costume of a juban and hakama would be fine. He quickly grabbed a black haori overcoat just in case the restaurant was really nice before he headed out the front door.

After a quick jog he was on the Tokyo subway system and was soon near the entrance to the restaurant. As he exited the subway he looked up to see the 'Old Tokyo Tower' with its red and white lattice structure. It looked so drab compared to its newer and taller silver model. Just a little further down the row was Hotel Ibis and adjoining it was 'Seventh Heaven'. As he approached the glassy black building he was aware that this wasn't really a restaurant and was closer to a bar. Once he walked in he looked at the gleaming stage with strategically placed poles that went down the middle of a row of seats. He could only guess that it was also a high class strip club. What had Sesshomaru gotten him into this time? Luckily it wasn't even close to opening time since it was only 5PM, so there were no patrons and only a few employees milling about.

A woman who seemed to be in her 30's greeted him. She was dressed like a geisha, but instead of having white face paint and an elaborate coiffure—she wore a scarlet kimono that was cut far too low to reveal the swells of her breasts and it was also exceedingly short. The hem of her kimono rode up above her knees. Her black hair was tied back into a short pony tail and she wore hanging ruby red earrings. Her lips were painted bright red and her eyes were lined with eye liner that imitated an Egyptian.

He was momentarily confused by the way she shimmed on up to him.

"Gah. I'm just meeting Sesshomaru," he added pulling his arms up and away from the woman.

"Oh, too bad," she said coyly. "Two gorgeous guys together and not a woman in sight."

"Oi. It's not like that he's my father…," stammered Inuyasha as the woman lead him into a small alcove that was hidden in a back room.

"Your father you say?" questioned the woman as she looked him up and down appraisingly and then turned and gestured with hands that had long scarlet nails that he follow her to the back of the club.

"This room should give you both the privacy that Sesshomaru-sama had insisted upon," said the woman in a sultry voice as she paused in front of a dark booth that had black curtains on either side.

"Good evening Sesshomaru-sama," said the woman.

Inuyasha looked to see Sesshomaru sitting at a booth in human form. His black hair was tied up in a long braid and he was wearing a beige business suit with a crisp white dress shirt. Neither the stripes on his cheeks nor the lunar crescent on his forehead were visible. Sesshomaru's icy brown-gold eyes flickered up at the woman and replied. "Konban-wa. Kagura-chan," said Sesshomaru in a tone that also seemed to mean that she was being dismissed.

The woman looked at him evenly as if expecting something more from him and then walked away swaying her hips seductively under her short kimono.

"What do you think you are doing, bringing me here?" asked Inuyasha. "I'm going to get married in less than a month and if Kagome ever gets wind of this…"

Sesshomaru still stared at him, but a subtle frown crept up the sides of his mouth. "I'm not here for the women, but I want people to think that is why I am here. Because of who I am I need privacy. This establishment understands my needs. This room has special protections that keeps nosy ears, both electronic and demonic from finding out what I have said."

Inuyasha pulled himself into the booth and sat across from Sesshomaru. Then he leaned into his haori jacket and pulled out a small bag that jingled like small coins were inside. "Kagome will take about a month to finish up your order. She can work on about10-20 rings a day depending on how busy she is. However, she asked me to give these to you as a show of goodwill."

"I see," said Sesshomaru as he picked up the bag and then placed it inside of his double-breasted coat pocket. "So you helped her to remember how to make the rings and she has succeeded?"

"Well, the rings work with me. They haven't been tested on a full demon yet," answered Inuyasha.

Sesshomaru frowned and pulled the booth's curtains closed. He took off a large golden ring with a large red ruby on the center from his finger. Just as Sesshomaru took off the ring his black hair changed to silvery white and his ears became more elf-like. His eyes also changed from their deep brown color to amber and his facial markings appeared again. He then took one of Kagome's rings that looked like it would fit his finger and tried it on. The effect was instantaneous and had the exact opposite effect. His hair turned back to black and his appearance was human again.

"The rings seem to work well," murmured Sesshomaru. "In fact they might even work better since the magic is so fresh and new. When she is done with the first batch I will probably send her some older rings that might need their enchantments refreshed." Sesshomaru paused and took off the new ring and put his old one back on with noticeable effects.

"So is that why you are here, Inuyasha? To give me these rings?" said Sesshomaru coolly.

Inuyasha looked Sesshomaru right in the eye. "Feh. I won't say that I'm not upset about all of this. I never knew that you were my Dad and I have always been upset that I never really had one. Mom, she...she really wanted me to have a Dad. She just thought that you would never accept me. Seeing that you made it clear to her that you wanted nothing to do with half-breeds. I don't know how you feel about half-breeds or if your feelings have changed. But it was just something Kagome told me…"

"Kagome?" asked Sesshomaru.

"Yes, you see we both have memories. Memories of the life we lead during the Sengoku Jidai. I remember you as my brother during those times. I also remember Kagome and our children…"

"Your children…?"

"Oi, Kagome asked me how I would feel if one of our kids didn't want to see us anymore and how we couldn't force them to see us or want to have us around. I admitted to her that I would feel pretty shitty if that happened to us. Then I guess I was thinking about how you might be feeling, since I have been pushing you away. Maybe it wasn't right. It's just that all I had was Mom and then she died when I was six. Then I was all alone. No Mom and no Dad. I figured that I would be alone for the rest of my life. I was so angry. Then the Moroboshi's adopted me when no one else would. They said that they needed a playmate for their son. But I could tell there was more to it than that. I would have been in that orphanage until now if they hadn't cared enough about me. But I was still bitter. My real Dad didn't want me. My real Dad thought that I was a filthy half-breed who didn't deserve to live!"

"Inuyasha!" intoned Sesshomaru who reached out and clutched his son's hands. "That is wrong. I never knew you were alive and I would have taken care of you had I known. Yes, I did say some…," he paused, "…unkind things about half-breeds in your mother's presence. I guess they were things I never should have said. Otherwise she would still be here today and you would have a father that had been there for you. I can't change the past Inuyasha. But I can be there in the future."

Inuyasha paused. "Alright. Well, how do we proceed then?"

Sesshomaru smiled and nodded toward the curtain. "There is someone that I would like you to meet," he said as he pulled the curtains back and exited the booth. Then Sesshomaru turned and motioned Inuyasha to follow him as they walked back to the hostess that had greeted Inuyasha when he had entered this establishment.

"Kagura-chan," said Sesshomaru. "If you don't mind, my son would also like to met your daughter."

"Yes, of course. Sesshomaru-sama," said the woman as she led them to the back into the dressing rooms.

Kagura quickly rapped on the dressing room door. "Girls. Is everyone decent? I'm bringing two men in." Her voice was met with a few mutters, but no protested. After pausing for a minute Kagura opened the door and took the two men into the dressing room. There were three women in the room who were apparently getting ready for tonight. They had on revealing dresses that showed large swaths of skin and were putting on lots of heavy makeup. Their eyeliner stretched past their eyes and their lipstick was blood red. Against the backdrop of a very adult dressing room was a young girl who seemed refreshingly innocent. She looked to be about 10 years-old. Her black hair was in two pony tails that hung down to her shoulders. She was also wearing a school girls' uniform with a plaid orange skirt and a matching white sailor's blouse with a orange tie under her chin. Somehow she looked familiar to Inuyasha, but he couldn't place where.

"Inuyasha," said Sesshomaru. "Meet Rin. Kagura has agreed to let me adopt her."

Inuyasha could only look down and stare in complete befuddlement at the young girl who had once been his Mom.

* * *

_**Author's Notes:**_

_#1: Seventh Heaven is a real gentleman's club in downtown Tokyo and it is next to the current Tokyo Tower. If you do a Google search for 'Seventh Heaven Tokyo' and you can find it. (Oh and no, I have never been there, but the reviews I found online were interesting.) However, I have been to the 'Old Tokyo Tower' which is currently the only Tokyo Tower until the new one is finished in 2010._

_#2: Kagura was added in this chapter after Kovia asked for her appearance._

_**Next Chapter:**_

_Inuyasha has been bugging me for a real lemon and you'll finally get one in the next chapter. See you next week—maybe sooner…_

_**Special thanks to the following reviewers:**_

_Blackdeathmessenger: Sorry. You did guess Koga correctly, but you also had to guess Ayame. Sorry that I only read Inu/Kag pairings. To me anything else is like having Romeo without Juliet. But if you do write a Inu/Kag story—plueaze e-mail me! OK?_

_sofiakalaughable:I had tons of fun writing the Koga/Inuyasha scenes. I was laughing as I wrote them. I'm glad that you were laughing, too._

_dbzgtfan2004: Yeah! Inu/Kags!! XOXO_

_Tsukihime nee: Glad you're having fun. Keep reading. There's more to come._

_Theleb K'aarna: Chapter 9 starts to explain why there are demons running around in modern day Japan without anyone really noticing. As you will find out most of them are wearing 'Rings of Concealment' which I dragged out of my D&D days. As far as giving all of the Inuyasha characters the same names even though they are reincarnated, I agree with you that it isn't realistic. There was a reason for Kagome to have the same name (she was named after her aunt) and Inuyasha was named after his uncle. But the rest of the names have no good reason for them to be there other than to make it easier for a reader to pick up on who they really are. I was toying with giving them new names, but I thought it would just get too confusing.  
_

_Kovia: Wow! You have lots of reading to do. As far as Kagura and Kanna. I wasn't intending to put either one of them in my story, but after your appeal I put Kagura in this chapter. (Hey, I try to make my reviewers happy!) _


	15. Chapter 15: That Little Yellow Dress

**That Little Yellow Dress…**

_Do not read this chapter unless you can handle adult situations. The first section contains a delicious lemon. The second section hints at non-consensual sex. If a situation like that un-nerves you. Please don't read the second section._

* * *

Slowly the Tokyo skyline came alive at night. The reds and oranges of the sunset had made way to purples and greys to black with a freckling of stars and a waxing crescent moon. The colors reflected themselves upon the glass and silver rectangular structures that butted up against the sky and the setting sun. Soon the buildings started to glow with light as the setting sun faded to grey.

Inuyasha paused outside of the large glassy black building in downtown Tokyo with Sesshomaru.

"Rin…she's hanyou…," murmured Inuyasha in amazement. When he had met the young girl he had noticed a small concealment ring on her finger and the telltale scent of demonic blood. Her demon blood was very dilute and the ring almost masked all of it, but it was there. His mom had returned as a half-breed.

Sesshomaru looked up at the skyline and looked ahead passively. "Yes, her soul must have picked this form in order to pay me back for all of my half-breed sentiments."

Inuyasha couldn't help but to display a smirk. "Well, at least she will be able to live a longer lifespan with you."

Sesshomaru paused, "I suppose there are some benefits to her new incarnation…"

"Keh", said Inuyasha as he turned to walk away.

"Where are you going Inuyasha?" asked Sesshomaru.

"Where else? To see Kagome…," said Inuyasha.

"Farewell then my son," said Sesshomaru quietly.

"Later…," he paused, "…Dad…," murmured Inuyasha. He then walked away and made his way into an alleyway. He turned around to see that no one was looking and glanced up before he made a giant leap to the top of the building. The rush of the leap and the feeling of air rushing up against his body made him feel so alive. He could have taken the subway to get back to see Kagome, but he felt an urgent need to see Kagome as soon as possible. Waiting for a ride on a crowded subway train wasn't how he wanted to spend the remainder of his time this evening.

Soon a blurry figure of red, black and silver moved from building to building along the downtown skyline. Inuyasha moved swiftly as he made his way to the Higurashi Sunset Shrine. He hoped that no one had seen him racing through downtown Tokyo. Soon he had passed the Torii gates and had made his way to the courtyard under Kagome's window. He looked up to see the window open with curtains that fluttered in the breeze and a glowing light from within that shone out into the courtyard.

He paused for a moment as he stood outside. He had developed a number of fantasies about Kagome after he had first met her. Once he was married to her there were plenty of opportunities to indulge in his intimate dreams. But there was one fantasy that he had never been able to indulge. Ever since he had first barged into her room through the window so many long years ago, he had always wondered what it would be like to make love to Kagome in her own room, her own bed, with her sweet scent permeating the room and under her families' roof. He had visited her many times in the past, he had even watched her sleep. Sometimes she even said his name as she dozed and turned in her bed. But he had always wondered what it would be like to share her bed with her. To be allowed to touch her, to make love to her under those pink bed sheets. He sighed and smiled as he jumped up into the open window.

He sat crouched in her windowsill and looked inside her room. Kagome was lying there on her desk. She had made yet another attempt to study that had progressed into a sound sleep in her chair. He almost felt like walking up to her and saying, "Oi wench, wake up!" But he couldn't bring himself to wake her up right now.

He walked over to her desk as quietly as he could to look at her. Her long obsidian tresses spilled over her yellow dress, her desk and lingered over her face. He looked down at her beautiful long dark lashes that fell so softly on her face. He nestled his face in her hair and breathed in the warm cherry blossom scent that was Kagome. The entire room smelled of Kagome. He pulled back quietly and there was a smile on his lips that Kagome rarely saw as he stroked her cheek and murmured her name.

He paused to remember all of the years he had spent with her in their past life. All of their adventures, hardships, friends, marriage, children and finally their last week together as they both succumbed to old age. And here was Kagome in his life again, as fresh as a spring bloom. The Kamis had been good to him.

She was still wearing her beautiful yellow dress. He loved the way it hugged her curves and fell gracefully around her legs. He moved his arms under her knees and back to lift her up and put her on her bed. He laid her down gently on her pink sheets with her yellow dress contrasting nicely to her raven hair.

Kagome's eyelids fluttered open with an unfocused vision until she turned her head and flashed one of those brilliant smiles that Inuyasha loved.

"Inuyasha, you came," said Kagome sleepily.

"Oi wench," he said gently as he continued to stroke her cheek and look into her warm chocolate eyes. He bent down and kissed her gently on the lips.

Before he knew it Kagome's arms were wrapped around his neck and he was being pulled down onto her bed. Their lips parted and their tongues delved into each others' mouths as if they had never done this before and had to explore new boundaries.

Her hands soon slid up to his ears and she took off his bandanna and let the fabric drop to the floor. "Those gorgeous ears of your really shouldn't be hidden away," she said slowly as she moved her hands to stroke the outer rims of his ears and then breathed gently into them. Inuyasha felt his pulse quicken at the attention. Then she started to lick the outside of his ears and traced her tongue along the inside rims. There seemed to be a direct link between his ears and his groin because he started to moan and harden at her ministrations. His chest started a low rumble as his hands started to touch her body through the thin fabric.

His hands traced the warmth and softness of her body that nestled so close under the cotton cloth. His fingers lingered at the edges of her bra and moved another hand to trace out the line of her panties under the dress. The hand near her bra couldn't help but to cup her breast in his hand. His other hand snaked under her skirt and touched the outside edge of her panties. He touched the soft curls gingerly and felt her inner warmth pour out from under his fingers. As he got closer to her core he felt wetness. She moaned as his fingertips touched her nub that lied on the outside of her folds. He rubbed her nub gently with his finger and his other fingers found her wetness and gently caressed both inside and outside of her folds with his knuckles.

Inuyasha kissed her on her lips and then moved his lips to nibble her ear. "I'm here to pay you back for what you did to me in the closet," said Inuyasha quietly in her ear.

"Kami. Pay me back anytime," moaned Kagome between deep breaths.

Kagome's hands then moved down to his hakama pants and she pressed her hands onto his lower torso, feeling his six pack and then started to glide her hands over the cotton cloth until she reached a bulge in his pants. She traced the outside edges of an erection that was imprisoned in his briefs. Her tiny fingers moved to the base of his penis and then stroked up the sides as she gently squeezed.

"Oh Kami. Girl you have no idea what you do to me," he said as he moved her hand away and grinded himself up against her, pushing his hardness against her hidden warm wetness. He groaned at the contact and he wanted more. So he lifted her up and wrapped her legs around his waist as while her body pressed in sweetly against him.

He then moved his legs between her thighs to gently spread them. Her pretty Summer dress was still on her and he grinned. His hands moved underneath her skirt--one hand per leg as he traced the inside of her thighs and then moved to the wet core that was hidden under her panties. The panties were tight as he pulled against them in his attempt to free her womanly goodness from their confines. He nudged them off of her legs and she pulled up her pretty long legs as she helped him pull them off. She was wearing a white lacey thong and he briefly smelled the thong that was permeated with her musky wet scent and then knew he had to lick her heat as well. He drew up her legs against his chest and then slid down onto her bed with his stomach lying flat on her bed, her legs spread out under his hands and his mouth.

"Oi Kagome, you smell so good," he murmured as if he was sniffing a wonderful dish that he was about to eat.

She moaned as he started with one long slow lingering lick that started at the base of her core and then moved up to her nub. His tongue flickered at her nub and then his tongue started to dive into her wetness. He loved the way she tasted. Every part of her body tasted good. As he licked her hands found his ears again and scratched the bases as he groaned. Then she stroked his ears up and down to mimic the motions of his mouth that were tracing the same patterns in and out of her wet folds. She was moaning softly under him.

When he couldn't stand the sweet torment anymore he moved to untie his hakama pants and found that Kagome got up to try to help him. Her lips had already met his as they sat up and her hands were helping his to pull at his hakama ties and then helped to push his pants down. Then her nimble fingers tugged at his briefs and helped to pull them down and over his stiff erection. He helped to kick off his own underwear onto her bedroom floor as he gripped her body from under her skirt and touched her warm and bare bottom. He shoved her warm naked lower body up against his full erection. He ground himself against her warm wetness.

Her arms went to her back in an attempt to pull down the zipper of her dress. His lips traced the outer edges of her ears. "No koishii, I can't wait," he said as he pushed her body down and moved his legs between her thighs again. He hiked up her skirt as far as it could go and moved his rock hard cock against her wetness.

He sighed and moaned as he felt her wetness rub against him. Her scent was pouring out and marking him intimately and he reveled in it. He started to rub himself on the outside of her folds paying special attention to rub against the nub at the front. When he couldn't take it any longer he maneuvered his hard cock into her core and pressed in against her warm, sweet wet inner skin.

He was momentarily shocked at how tight she was and how hard it was for him to sheath himself in her. Then he realized that both of their bodies had not acclimated themselves to sex yet. Her body especially would take some time to adjust. He moved inside of her gently, pressing down and then moving in and out with only the tip. Then as her body became more accustomed to his girth he started to slide in more and more until his entire length was inside of her. He then rubbed in and out of her rhythmically feeling her slick inner folds rubbing him intimately in such a way that called him to explode. He had forgotten how wonderful it felt to be inside of her and found that it was difficult to control himself. If she hadn't already gone down on him recently he didn't know if he would have been able to last.

He moaned as he pulled her legs up higher and then he nestled in against her in an attempt to taste the wetness of her mouth as well as the wetness of her core. His mouth captured hers and probed deep inside of her as she sucked on his tongue. Then he moved his mouth over to her ears and nibbled at them and gently breathed into them while saying, "koishii".

Her hands were tracing small circles on his back before they started to grip his firm ass and pushed him further within her. She started to gasp and her fingernails pinched him as she hung onto him for dear life. She started to moan more loudly until she placed her mouth between his shoulder and neck and almost bit him as she stifled a scream into his shoulder. Then she panted breathlessly as her body quivered underneath him.

He grinned wildly. He had taken her where he wanted her to go, now it was his turn to let go. While he looked down at her unfocused and dreamy eyes he focused on her warm wetness rippling up against his hardness pulling him closer and closer to the edge. His balls tightened and then he let loose. He wanted to scream and he wanted to howl to brag to everyone what had just happened, but remembering his promise he clamped his mouth on his own forearm as he came, biting himself in the process and drawing some blood.

"Damn," he said as he pulled back looking at his arm and the small red marks that were on it.

"Oh Inuyasha, I'm so sorry," she said as she kissed his wounds gently. He smiled at her thoughtfully.

He then lied on his side and spooned up next to her where he nuzzled his head into her hair and nibbled at her neck. His hands then moved up to unzip her dress.

"I've been wanting access to your luscious breasts for a while now wench," he added.

"Then why didn't you let me take off my dress earlier?" she asked.

"Sorry. I needed you too badly," he grinned as he paused, "I really like your dress, koishi. Maybe we can have sex with you wearing it again?"

She laughed and the tinkling of her voice made the warmth that was inside of his heart flow all over his chest—warming him.

"Maybe," she said as the zipper was all of the way down and Inuyasha was helping to pull it off and over her shoulders. The only thing left on her was a lacy white bra, which looked rather funny since her panties had been long gone. Inuyasha resisted the urge to just cut them off with his claws and tried to undo them from their fasteners. Kagome quickly moved to help him as she moved her hands behind her back to show him how to pull the fasteners together before pulling them up and apart.

"Keh, that's how you do it," he murmured and then he grinned. "I'll know how to do that next time."

"Next time?" she said playfully.

"Oi wench, you think I can be satisfied with only one helping? I want to come back every night."

"Oh, what sort of demon have I unleashed?" she said as she turned around in his arms and batted her eyelashes at him.

"Keh. A dog demon. What else?" he said grinning evilly.

Then Kagome noticed that his cock had started to stiffen and rise.

"Time for a second round," he said as he grinned and pounced on her again as she laughed in his arms.

* * *

A man with long black hair tied together in a long pony tail sat behind a solid mahogany desk. He was wearing a black two piece suit and a maroon colored silk dress shirt.

Naraku ran his hands ran against the desk in front of him. Then he turned his hands inward to press the tips of his fingers against each other as if he was praying. He pressed the tips of his fingers to his forehead as he remembered a conversation that he had had a week ago.

The young man, Hojo, had arrived at his office and had told him about the hanyou. Hojo was quite certain that Inuyasha had arrived at Kagome's shrine with silver hair and golden eyes. But when he had left the shrine ground he had black hair and violet eyes. There was always the possibility that he was wearing a concealment ring. But after questioning Hojo about a holy aura, which should have been detectable in trace amounts, Naraku was satisfied that the sudden change in Inuyasha's form was due to the thinning of his demonic blood rather than a concealment spell.

All demons were aware that a half-demon's power waxed and waned just like the moon. Naraku had noted that on that particular night there had been a new moon in the sky. That night was it! That night was the night that Inuyasha reverted back into his human form--the night that he was weak. It was on that night that he would strike. He was already formulating plans and he had the date marked. In three weeks time he would kidnap the miko and have the half-breed on his knees. Naraku really had no use for the half-breed, but for some reason—ever since he had learned of his existence as Kagome's protector he had a feeling of intense dislike. No, it was more than that. It was loathing, hatred and a desire to have the young man murdered. For the life of him, he couldn't ascertain where these feelings were coming from—just as he really couldn't understand why he was so fascinated with a lowly human miko. But he felt that he would act upon his feelings nevertheless.

There was a knock at his door and a dark haired woman with a short red, silk kimono walked in.

"You asked for me, brother?" asked Kagura.

"Yes, my pet. Come over here and visit your brother," said Naraku sardonically.

Kagura froze and started to retreat with her hand reaching for the door frame.

Naraku got there first as he pressed against the door and then bolted up the lock from inside.

Kagura swallowed hard and her lips were tight. Momentarily her face was frightened, but then it was quickly replaced by an eerie calm. It was as if Kagura was not even there and some other being was in her body.

"Brothers don't touch their sisters," she murmured as her body stiffened against his touch.

Naraku's hands found their way within the folds of her kimono and her panties were quickly ripped down and away from her body as she gasped. Somehow a nervous energy came coursing through her and she slapped his face hard. Her blow hit against his cheek and followed through to strike his lower jaw.

"You'll regret that," he said as he grabbed her again and pinned her two wrists with one hand against the wall.

With his free hand Naraku stumbled to get his ring of concealment off of his finger and it dropped to the rug with a muffled sound. His body then writhed as his human form gave way to a demonic form that had tentacles and claws. A tentacle wound itself around Kagura's wrists in order to keep her from taking off her ring of concealment as well.

"You'll regret touching me," Kagura yelled back at him. "When I revert to my true form I'll rip you a new ass."

Narkau moved closer to her face and licked her cheek. "If you fight me, I'll take out my displeasure on Rin. You wouldn't' want me to do that would you? You will come to me willingly. Do not displease me."

Kagura frowned as her face wore a vivid scowl. Then her body was no longer stiff, it was boneless. She wasn't struggling in his grip anymore. In fact, she wasn't even there. Her mind had wandered off to some far corner of her mind to escape the imminent rape that was about to occur. But the rapes never happened to her. They always happened to someone else. She was just a bystander looking in from afar, judging the situation with analytical coldness.

"Soon," thought Kagura. "Soon you will pay Naraku. Rin will be freed from your grasp and then so shall I…"

* * *

_**Next Chapter:**_

_Demons and Hanyous. What can it be? Oh yes, it's Inuyasha's and Kagome's family reunion…_

_**Author's Notes:**_

_#1: If you would like a soundtrack to listen to while you read the Inuyasha/Kagome lemon then try Cascada's 'Everytime We Touch'. I took a cue from Twistedhilarity and listened to that soundtrack when I wrote the lemon in this chapter. It is sweet teeny-bopper love music that seems to work for Inuyasha and Kagome's tender scenes. And speaking of Twistedhilarity you should check out her truly excellent fanfict 'This is Gonna Be Fun!'. You can check out an edited version here at Fan Fiction, but I recommend the non-edited one at Adult Fan Fiction. Man, that story is so good that I still laugh and cry when I re-read it. My favorite chapter hands down is Chapter 11: It's all your fault, you know!_

_#2: I had trouble with the lemon I wrote in this chapter. It was originally written at the same time as the last chapter was written. But I was not satisfied with it since it was too lustful and didn't seem to have any real love involved. So I did a complete re-write and tried to make it more loving. My apologies if anyone thinks it has too much 'WAFF' in it now. But I like my second version better._

_#3: I had meant to keep Inuyasha and Kagome from 'doing it' until they were married. But try as I might Inuyasha and Kagome just wouldn't cooperate with me and they finally got their lemon. You don't know how many scenes from this story went out the window as the characters decided that they wanted something else to happen._

_#4: I meant to leave this note on the last chapter. This story has Sesshomaru and Rin as a pairing. I also love stories with Sesshomaru and Kagura as a pairing since I do truly think he had feelings for her (you might recall from the manga where he tries to resurrect her with his Tennsaiga, but is not able to do so). But I went with Fluffy and Rin since I needed Inuyasha to be born as a half-demon. If it was Fluffy and Kagura our Inuyasha would be a full demon and my story would have fallen apart. I'll try to give Kagura a happy ending, but alas she won't get the man she truly desires…_

_#5: I'm trying to figure out how Rin will look as a Hanyou. Any ideas? I really wanted to go with cat ears and a tail. But Kagura is a wind demon. What sort of child would a wind demon and a human have? Wings? Tails? Ears?_

_**Special thanks to the following reviewers:**_

_sofiakalaughable: Hopefully you are happy with the KOLIO in this chapter._

_Tsukihime nee: Hummm...no current plans for Kanna. But then again, I had no plans for Kagura until Kovia asked and now she's an integral part of the plot. We'll see…_

_Mysterious-Moon06: I usually update once a week, usually on the weekends. Never fear._

_Theleb K'aarna: So do you understand that lemon, lime and citrus are all buzz-words for sexual content? Grin. I also agree that the opening dream in Ch. 6 with Kagome was a bit raw. But you also have to understand that Inuyasha and Kagome have been married for 300 years. It was a memory of Kagome when she was his wife in their past life. I'm glad that you're reading my story, luv! It gives me those warm and fuzzy feelings._

_Devil Rebel: You saw Hojo turning evil coming? Oh darn, I wasn't subtle enough. :-)_

_Kovia: Glad you liked the addition of Kagura. Now please don't kill me for what just happened to her in this chapter. I know that you want a happy ending for Kagura, but I had to show how incredibly awful Naraku is and I had to give Kagura a reason to want to give up her child. I'll try to give her a happy ending…bear with me…_


	16. Chapter 16: Family Reunion

**Family Reunion**

_Lemon alert after the second section break. Please do not read if you cannot handle adult situations._

* * *

Inuyasha was impatiently tapping his geta clad foot in the hallway waiting for Kagome with his arms folded into his kimono sleeves. He was decked out in a formal black silk kimono with red and silver geometric patterns. His silver hair had been woven into a long braid and a silk bandana covered his ears.

Souta stood next to him. The older man had short grey-black hair and was wearing a black kimono that had patterns of golden dragons and white cranes emblazoned on the silk. Souta tried to hide a laugh once he heard a low-level growl emanating from Inuyasha's chest.

"Patience Inuyasha. It takes far longer for a woman to put on a kimono than a man. They have more kimono layers, a more complicated obi to tie, makeup to put on...," said Souta as he looked at the hanyou's frown.

"Keh. It still shouldn't take so damn long!" said Inuyasha in annoyance.

Souta raised an eyebrow to Inuyasha. "Is there anything else bothering you besides how long it is taking Kagome to get ready?"

Inuyasha blanched immediately and his mind whirled around all of the things that were making him edgy. He thought about Naraku and how he had attempted to kidnap Kagome. He thought about the demons that they had fought in the darkness. He thought about having to meet up with Koga again and how he really wanted to hit that wolf demon a few times--just to take the edge off of his anger. He thought about the first time that he was going to see his daughter, her husband (son of 'wolf-shit') and their children…

He momentarily paused and stopped tapping his foot. He was going to see his daughter, his grandchildren, his great-grandchildren… He took a deep cleansing breath. He realized that he had a lot of things to be angry about, but right now it was sheer nervousness over seeing family that he had had no contact with for over 200 years. What would they think of him now? In reality he was but a teenage boy at present, albeit with over 300 years of memories residing in his skull. He didn't look like a father, let alone grandfather. But he was aching to see them all. Having grown up as an orphan with no one to take care of him made him appreciate family all the more. That was probably why he and Kagome had so many kids. He really wanted to have a family around him. In fact, he desired his own little clan and he got one. His clan was still around to this day! Too bad that they were now tied to 'wolf-shit's' clan—but he would take the good with the bad.

While Inuyasha was lost in thought he noticed that Souta was still looking at him expecting an answer. The problem was that he really couldn't give Souta the full truth. Kagome had already asked him to not let her family know the real dangers that she was facing. "Keh…I'm a little worried about what my family will think of me. It has been over 200 hundred years…," he stammered.

Souta nodded in understanding. "I see…"

Suddenly a door in the hallway opened and both Kagome and her grandmother walked out. Mrs. Higurashi was wearing a pale yellow kimono with a black and red obi. But it was Kagome that captured his attention as he almost gaped. Her lovely, shapely form was adorned with a formal silk-layered kimono and she looked like the epitome of elegance. Her hair was pinned up with an ivory comb at the top of her hair and the nape of her kissable neck was exposed. Her elaborate kimono was maroon with black and silver patterns that became darker as they neared her geta clad feet. Tied around her waist was a black and silver obi that was tied in an elaborate bow behind her back. Kagome's lips were painted with red lipstick and there was the slightest hint of brown eye shadow under her dark lashes.

Inuyasha just stood there for a moment as he composed his thoughts. "You look lovely Kagome," was all that he could manage to say.

Kagome beamed at him and a slight blush rose from her cheeks. He wondered for a brief second why she would be blushing. Hadn't they finally mated last night? With that thought he just beamed a smile back at her and offered his arm to her. She gladly accepted and placed her arm in his, her feet clacking as her black geta sandals hit the wooden floor. "Thank you Inuyasha, you look very handsome yourself," she said in admiration while still blushing.

"Are we ready to go then?" asked Mrs. Higurashi with her trademark smile. Soon they were all ushered out the door in their silk finery and walked to the taxi that had been waiting outside for them.

* * *

A yellow taxi cab drove up onto the gravely pathway outside of the Meiji Shrine gates on the outskirts of Tokyo. Kagome was the first to step out. "Is this really where we are to meet everyone?" she asked with trepidation.

"Yes, that's what Koga said," answered Inuyasha as he helped Kagome out of the cab. He was still looking at her. He would have normally been extremely nervous, but with Kagome by his side the nervousness faded. He couldn't help but to grin knowing that she was not only his mate, but that any demons attending the event would know by her scent as well. It would take a lot to get the silly grin off of his face.

Souta paid the cab driver and the group made their way under the massive wooden Torii gates of the Meiji Emperor's Shrine. Four pairs of geta sandals crunched the small stone gravel that paved the way to the shrine. Inuyasha held Kagome's hand while Souta and Mrs. Higurashi walked ahead of them.

"I wonder how Hitomi looks now and how many children she has…," murmured Kagome. "Oh and Kami! I can finally introduce her to her own grandmother and Uncle! This is so strange, Inuyasha….Inuyasha?"

"Hummmm…?" Inuyasha looked back at her with a smile and a cloudy look in his eyes.

"Where are you Inuyasha?" said Kagome as she slapped him playfully on his arm.

"Oi…Keh…I was re-living last night," said Inuyasha with a grin that was slowly becoming both evil and sexy at the same time.

"Oh," said Kagome as her face started to turn beet red. Her voice then dropped a few levels so that she could be sure that only a hanyou with very good hearing could understand. A small smile played itself across her face as well. "It was nice to be in your arms again, Inuyasha." The couple paused as Souta and Mrs. Higurashi walked on ahead of them.

Inuyasha reached for her hand again and pulled her close to him in a firm embrace. "I'm not letting you go Kagome," he said earnestly as he looked into her eyes. "We're mates now." He kissed her briefly on the tips of her lips and then the passion that he had expressed to her last night came roaring out of him.

Unbidden he took Kagome fiercely and pressed her hands to her side. His mouth started to devour hers and then he couldn't help but to start to nibble on her exposed neck as his lips and tongue traced their way from her ears to the divot at the base of her throat.

"My my, you still can't keep your hands off of each other…," a mature female voice called out.

Inuyasha almost snarled as he turned to face whomever was interrupted his tryst with his mate. He then gaped in astonishment as he looked on the form of his daughter, Hitomi, who was carrying a baby in her arms.

"Hitomi?" asked Inuyasha in complete befuddlement.

"Hitomi-chan!" yelled Kagome as she moved out from under Inuyasha and ran toward Hitomi with outstretched arms.

"Mom…Dad," called out the woman who looked like an older version of Kagome. Just like Kagome she had chocolate colored eyes, long wavy raven black hair and a gentle air about her. Their daughter looked to be in her mid-thirties and she had a few wisps of grey in her hair that had been missing the last time they had seen her 200 years ago. Kagome noticed that Hitomi's little black dog-like ears were not showing and saw that a concealment ring was in place.

Kagome reached out and hugged Hitomi, mindful of the little baby in her arms. Inuyasha ran up to squeeze them both with his arms.

"A baby?" said Kagome. "Can I hold him? Is he yours?"

Hitomi smiled up at Kagome and then lifted a small baby swaddled with blue clothes into her waiting arms. The baby had a tuft of black hair and brown-gold eyes.

Kagome's eyes lit up as she held the tiny creature and started to rock him in her arms. "Inuyasha! Look at this!" she gaped as she gently pulled some hair aside to show him a pair of incredibly tiny black ears, but that were nearly invisible against his black hair. Inuyasha looked down and noticed that he also sported human ears as well.

"Cute little bugger," said Inuyasha thoughtfully. "What's his name?"

Hitomi grinned. "He's my grandson, Isamu. My daughter, Rui, married a human and this is their first child."

"Oh he's gorgeous Hitomi," said Kagome as she held the baby close to her and looked at his tiny face. She smiled at the baby and the baby cooed back at her.

"That's your great-grandma," said Hitomi as she looked at the questioning infant. "Come along, Mom," she said, "there's a lot of us here who are dying to meet you and Dad."

"Dad?" thought Inuyasha briefly as the words that were once so familiar to him started to wash themselves over his memory again, bringing back images of the twelve children they had and even images of some of his grandchildren.

"The tea house is up ahead on the left," Hitomi said as they turned down another gravely path which lead to a small lake. Nestled within the garden path was a small one-story tea house. The placards outside denoted it as being the emperoress' teahouse and was built in the 1860's.

Kagome noticed the large crowd that was already gathered there was also dressed in formal dress. But it was how everyone looked that truly warmed her heart. Nearly everyone there had some similarities to Kagome and Inuyasha. She saw many heads of wavy raven hair or silver hair or various shades of grey, eyes of brown, gold or brown-gold, some figures with a stout muscular frame or some with long legs and a willowy frame. Everyone seemed like some muted variation on Inuyasha and herself. It was all strangely familiar.

Kagome soon caught the sight of her own Dad and Grandmother and moved Hitomi toward them to introduce them.

"Grandma, Dad, this is my daughter, Hitomi. She was my youngest child," said Kagome with pride.

"My great-granddaughter or should I call you granddaughter?!" exclaimed Mrs. Higurashi as her eyes nearly brimmed with tears and she hugged Hitomi fiercely. Souta soon followed and his eyes were equally as wet.

"Mom, Dad, I have many more people to introduce you to," said Hitomi as she pulled her mother along while Kagome still carried her cherished great-grandson. Inuyasha quickly followed in their wake as the crowd that had gathered started to murmur and then parted to allow the small group through.

A very startled looking man turned to look up at Hitomi, Kagome and Inuyasha. He looked to be in his mid-thirties and was wearing an emerald green kimono. He had long black hair that was bound up in a braid and he had emerald green eyes. And he bore a striking resemblance to Koga except for his eyes.

"Kyou," said Inuyasha with a hint of anger to his voice.

"Yes, honored father-in-law," said Kyou. "I was never able to ask you for your permission to marry Hitomi. But I hope that you are satisfied that I have been taking good care of her for the past 200 years."

Inuyasha grabbed the man by his kimono collar and shoved him against the nearest tree. Some people nearby gasped in amazement. However, few people seemed truly surprised at the turn of events.

"You were always sniffing around our home. You were looking for Hitomi? Weren't you?" asked Inuyasha in a threatening tone.

"Yes, I…I couldn't help myself. Ever since I first saw Hitomi I had to make her my mate. My intentions were honorable…," said the full-blooded demon who seemed all too human under his ring of concealment. Inuyasha's glared at his fiercely with his fangs exposed.

"You waited until I died to mate with her? Didn't you wolf-shit?" asked Inuyasha accusingly.

"I…I…had no choice. You wouldn't let Hitomi and me be together. We met for years in secret. I always loved your daughter and I always will…," Kyou's eyes looked down at Inuyasha's feet doing everything he could to brook no further argument.

"Inuyasha," hissed Kagome in a whisper. "This is not the time or place to play alpha male…this is the father to your grandchildren and great-grandchildren…"

"I just, I just don't trust wolves…," added Inuyasha as he let go of Kyou's collar and let him drop unceremoniously back to the ground.

Kagome moved up next to him and kissed his cheek. "Koi, you have me. All of me. In our past life and this life. You don't need to fear the big bad wolf anymore."

Inuyasha turned around to look at Kagome with a misty look in his eyes as he whispered to her. "I was always so afraid that you would leave me for wolf-shit. That you would finally have enough of me and I would never see you again."

Kagome placed two hands on his chest and then kissed him full on the lips. "I was married to you for over 300 years and I never left you then or now…Stop being afraid…you know I love you and only you…now and forever."

"Yes, Koi," Inuyasha murmured as he sought out her lips again and gently kissed her.

They were both ignoring the outside world, but they could hear some murmurs of tears, laughter and hoots at their display. Kagome then pulled away from him bashfully, her cheeks beet red and then she hid her face in his kimono.

Suddenly they heard a loud whistle over the murmur of the crowd surrounding them. The crowd parted again and they were witness to Koga in a formal blue and gold kimono. "Did you finally get that out of your system, mutt-face?" asked Koga with the usual smirk on his face. "I should really kick your butt for threatening my boy…but since he is also your son-in law how about we both just settle this over some sake?"

For one of the few times in Inuyasha's life, he smiled at Koga and moved his hand to grip Koga's hand in his own. The crowds around them cheered and they were soon moved to a table outside where their immediate family sat to drink some sake. During the next two hours they meet all of their surviving grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great grandchildren, and assorted sons and daughter in –laws. By the end of the day Inuyasha had made peace with Koga and had forgiven Kyou for mating with Hitomi. He even acknowledged that if Kyou had not taken Hitomi as his mate, that she wouldn't have lived long enough for them to see her today.

Soon the revelers found themselves toasting to each others' health and yelling 'Banzai!" with every sip. After everyone was giddy with sake-induced playfulness—Inuyasha announced their imminent wedding. Standing astride a park bench next to the koi filled lake, Inuyasha began his announcement.

"As many of you know I married and mated Kagome in our past life. The problem with the vows we once took is that they were until 'death do us part'. So we're going to say our vows again. You are all formally invited to our wedding ceremony three weeks from now on Saturday at the Higurashi Sunset Shrine temple at 4PM. Please do us the honor of attending!"

Cheers were heard up and down the crowd and some of the men managed to grab Inuyasha. The half-demon was soon being carried on their backs as they brought him back down again for some more sake and many more yells of "Banzai!" Another hour had passed and the sun had started to dip over the horizon before they were able to leave.

* * *

Inuyasha was dropped off first by the taxi at the Moroboshi Temple. He kissed Kagome gently on the lips and then murmured in her ear, "See you later koishii…," before he walked into his families' temple grounds.

Once Kagome's family returned home she walked up to her room to put on her pajamas. She walked up to the mirror by her bedside and took out the ivory comb on the top of her hair. Then she reached behind to take out hairpins that had held a bun in place. Soon wavy black ringlets fell down her back. Then she started to undo her obi, which had three layers. First she undid the braid-like cord that held her obi in place before unwinding two more obi belts that lied underneath. After hanging the cords on her nightstand she started to take off the heavy silk maroon kimono that was layered on top. Then she took off two more successive layers of kimonos: one that was a light blue silk and one that was a heavy white cotton. Soon she was standing in her room wearing only a lacy pink bra and panties.

She turned to her closet to get out a set of pink pajamas that she was going to wear tonight. But before she could put them on she heard a voice from her window.

"Oi wench, don't cover up!"

"Inuyasha!" she exclaimed with her pajamas held before her breasts.

"Keh. Didn't you know I was going to show up?" he said with a grin as he dropped down from the window into her room.

"I wasn't too sure…," she murmured helplessly.

"I told you that I couldn't help but come back for seconds, and thirds and… Oh drop those clothes Kagome. I can't see you properly…," he said while trying to look past the pajamas that obscured his view of her breasts and tummy. "You were covered up with a kimono all day and I really wanted to see what was underneath."

Kagome smiled as the pajamas dropped to the floor and placed her arms on her hips.

"Exactly how long were you watching, Inuyasha," she said in feint anger.

"Long enough," he smirked as he walked up to her and placed his hands on her hips as well. His molten gold eyes alighted on her stormy brown ones and her face immediately softened. He moved his hands to her cheeks to hold her face firmly in his hands as he tilted her face up for a kiss. It was gentle at first before it quickly became more needy and wet. Kagome's arms pressed up against him and then found the opening at the top of his kimono. Soon her tiny hands were massaging up against his chest and were widening the opening to his kimono with each stroke.

Inuyasha then gripped Kagome's form firmly, pulling her toward him. He couldn't help but to pause and have one hand lightly brush against her beautiful bottom that was framed in silky pink panties. "Miroku had some ideas right," he thought wryly as his hand slipped underneath the panties. Soon he was feeling the difference between the silky coolness of her panties and the firm, warm roundness of her bottom. He couldn't help but to pull her up closer to him. Her warm sex nestled his sex so nicely. It was too bad that he still had all of his clothes on.

He then tugged at his kimono top. He was trying to shrug out of it while still keeping as much physical contact with Kagome as possible. Kagome's hands helped to push his top apart and down. His fingers fumbled with the kimono knot and it was quickly undone. Kagome's now had more skin to touch. She touched the silky skin that rested on top of hard, firm muscles. Soon all he had on was a pair of black briefs that were tenting in the front. He quickly bent down to lift Kagome up and then placed her down gently on the bed. Then his body followed hers in quick succession to lie on top of her propped up by his forearms.

His kisses started on her forehead, then down the nape of her neck, to the divot at the base of her neck, and to the valley of her breasts. Inuyasha couldn't help but to grin to hear her moan and most importantly to smell the luscious musky scent that revealed her arousal. He licked the valley between her round orbs before lingering his tongue around the edges of her bra. He frowned momentarily in displeasure at the bra before he managed to find the fasteners and unlatch the bra. The lacy silk slipped out of his fingers so that he could look down on two lovely round orbs that were begging to be suckled. He couldn't help but to devour one breast and then the other. His fangs gently nipped her breast and Kagome felt a prickling against her tender skin. The sensation of both pleasure and pain at the same time was enormously arousing.

Kagome bent up her face to ensnare his mouth in another deep kiss. Her pulse quickened and her hands found their way under his briefs. She gently stroked his firm backside before encircling her hands to his front to find something long, warm and hard. He started to immediately groan as she squeezed the base of his cock and slid her hands up and down. It then followed quite naturally to help get him out of his briefs to pull them apart and allow an extra width in the drawers before sliding them down his muscular legs.

He smirked at her as his warm length pressed up against her thighs. Then he pulled his heat away to huddle over her on all fours. She soon found him pulling her silky panties off of her body.

She pushed herself up and her mouth quickly found his hardened cock. He couldn't help but to sit up, as his cock was at complete attention. Moans escaped his lips as her tongue gently licked around his shaft before her entire mouth took him in. The warm, wet tightness of her mouth and the way her back teeth scrapped against him was wonderful. His cock bobbed and pulsed in her mouth before he had to get her to stop. He didn't want to finish in her mouth tonight.

He gently pushed her away and let his hands push up from the base of her hips to glide out across her skin to her breasts. Then he settled himself between her thighs letting his hands stroke up against her silky skin before his tongue found her opening. She moaned and her hips bucked as he let his tongue lick from the base of her wetness to the nub at the top. She was squirming as he paid special attention to the nub and even let his teeth scrap up against it. Her body suddenly spasmed and he was pleased to feel a gushing of her personal juices against his tongue.

Her eyes were heavy lidded and her body was boneless as he moved up his body against hers. His lips found hers again and this time they tasted each other as they kissed. Their own personal scents combined.

His hardness was rubbing against the wetness of her core. He then pushed up against her and found immense pressure and tightness coming up against him. She was wet and ready, but her body was still almost virginal. It was at that moment that he fully seemed to realize that it was her reincarnation that he was with tonight. His memories told him that this was the woman he had been married to for over 300 years. But her body told him this was someone new. He was someone new. But his only desire was to be with her again. Somewhere deep inside it was almost as if he had been waiting for her for over 200 years and he really couldn't wait anymore. Even if they had new bodies, he really couldn't imagine not being with her, not loving her, not sharing his life with her again…

With that thought he pushed up against her tightness again and felt his shaft plunging deep inside of her. "Ahhhh," both Inuyasha and Kagome moaned as he pressed himself up against her to the hilt. It was very tight, so he paused before be started to move in and out of her again. His hands propped himself up against her and he looked into her eyes. He found nothing but love and understanding as he looked at eyes that reflected his own face. There was a sweetness there that he felt had been missing for far too long in his life. He hoped that she could feel his love for her as he pressed himself into her again.

Then he was momentarily disoriented when he saw a feral gleam in her eyes. Her legs wrapped up tightly around his waist. Then she pushed against one side to roll them over. Soon she had righted herself up on top of him while still keeping him in.

She smiled at him and Inuyasha couldn't help but to think that she was wearing his telltale smirk. One of her hands pressed down on his abdomen and another between his legs behind her for balance. She then rode him and pressed her small form against his body. She rocked as she moved him in and out of her. They both moaned as her body found just the right place to rub so that his cock stroked her exactly where she wanted him to.

Inuyasha felt the tightening and pressure build up and he really wanted to release himself. But he was going to wait until she came first. He didn't have to wait long before her moans started building in intensity. He was quite sure that she was about to scream when her own fist went to her mouth to stifle the sexy sounds she was making. Inuyasha was a little disappointed. He really wanted to hear her scream. There was something deeply satisfying about bringing a lover to the point where their voice and body both lost control. "Maybe later," he thought to himself. Then he let himself go. He took over the rhythm since Kagome's body was spasming and boneless on top of him. It only took a few more strokes before he let loose and had his own sweet release. He had briefly forgotten about his promise to keep quiet and he was about to let out a wonderful howl when her lips met his. He screamed into her mouth and then her tongue explored his. He was disoriented for a moment. The crashing feeling of his orgasm still made him a stranger to his own body. Soon he noticed her mouth on his and he returned her affections and his arms encircled her warm, sweaty body.

Then she pulled away from him, her chocolate eyes still gleaming and affectionate. She kissed his chin and then stroked his sweaty chest before she pulled out of him and spooned up next to him. He drew her next to him, hearing her heartbeat and he found himself strangely content. Yes, Naraku was out there and demons had been attacking Kagome. But here at this moment, nothing could bother him. He had his girl in his arms and everything was right in the world.

Inuyasha put a protective hand on Kagome's bare tummy. He then moved down and looked at her naked abdomen, which was still glistening with a sheen of sweat.

"Why are you so fascinated with my tummy, Inuyasha?" said Kagome playfully as she started to scratch the base of his ears. His chest started to rumble in appreciation, but he couldn't take his eyes off of her lower form.

"I…ah…I was remembering what happened after the first time we made love. Remember the first time we married?"

Kagome giggled. "I was so nervous during the wedding ceremony. I nearly spilled my sake."

Inuyasha couldn't help but to interrupt, "But Miroku had told me before the ceremony to not spill a drop of sake, since it would be bad luck, so…"

Kagome continued, "…with your hanyou senses you were able to right the cup before anything happened and then you even helped me sip the sake. I still remember our eyes meeting as you brought the sake cup to my lips…," she added smiling.

"Well, I had to make sure that you didn't spill a drop. I didn't want to have bad luck hovering over us…," said Inuyasha in feigned annoyance.

He then returned his glance at her belly. "But that's not what I meant. After our first time together, as mates…" he looked at her with a knowing grin, "You were with pup so quickly…and your belly and breasts got so big!"

Kagome folded her arms to her chest in feigned indignation. "Yes, I remember…"

"Koishii," said Inuyasha as he looked back at her eyes. "I meant to say that even though I was shocked to see you pupped, I…I was so happy when Keiko was born. She looked just like you and I loved her so much. After seeing Hitomi, our grandchildren and great-grandchildren today--I've been thinking …"

"And …?" asked Kagome.

He looked at her seriously and stroked her cheeks with both hands. "I wouldn't mind being a Dad all over again."

Kagome's brown eyes widened, "So soon?"

"I wouldn't mind if you were pupped right now," said Inuyasha with a gleam in his eyes as he grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Eeep!" she yelped and then quickly quieted down fearing that her dad or grandmother might hear them. She then turned to look at his serious face. "I want to finish my degree first. But after my degree is done, then let's start talking about having kids."

Inuyasha looked at her belly again and whined. "Do I have to wait that long?"

Kagome giggled again. "You waited 200 years. I don't think three more years will kill you!"

"Well, then we need to make sure that we have practiced the art of making pups thoroughly until then," he said as he pounced on her.

"Inuyasha!" she yelped happily as she received his warm embrace once more.

* * *

_**Next Chapter:** While Kagome and Inuyasha plan their nuptials Naraku starts to spin his web.  
Please read and review! I really look over and read every review I get and it really makes me happy to get reviews. It's the only thing that keeps me writing! So please drop a line!  
_

_**Special Thanks to Theleb K'aarna who was my Beta for this chapter.**_

_**Author's Notes: **_

_#1: I thought that I should mention that these are the only characters who are NOT reincarnations: Sesshomaru, Koga, Ayame, Hitomi, Kyou (and other various descendants of Inuyasha). Sesshomaru is the one who has changed the most over the years. Koga has also become more mellow. Everyone else (i.e. Kagome, Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, Hojo, Naraku, Kagura, Rin) are all reincarnations._

_**Special thanks to the following reviewers:**_

_my-soul-is-your-soul & sofiakalaughable: Glad you liked it._

_JarethsCrystallineDream: Where do I get my story ideas? Chapter one was inspired by Elizabeth's and Mr. Darcy's first meeting in 'Pride and Prejudice'. The rest of the story has basically been my attempt at getting these very strong willed characters to adhere to my plotline, but they haven't been cooperating very well. Inuyasha and Kagome were supposed to be fighting for a lot longer. Kagome wasn't supposed to remember her past quite as quickly as she did. And the sex scenes! Arrgh! Those two just couldn't be stopped. I couldn't keep their hands off of each other. So I guess I'm telling you that the characters really wrote the story themselves, I was just along for the ride. Oh and the music. I have the Best of Inuyasha. Is Kikyo's Theme on it? I only have the opening and closing songs of the series on it._

_Devil Rebel: OK. I'm glad that you didn't know that Hojo was turning evil. I was hoping that it would take everyone by surprise. Glad you're enjoying the story._

_Theleb K'aarna: Yes, Sesshomaru is a little more emotional now. But 500 years of having your loved one live and die on you can do that to you. He has gone through 7 reincarnations with Rin so far. Luckily, now she is hanyou and will live longer._


	17. Chapter 17: Spinning Webs

**Spinning Webs**

Hojo was watching Kagome again. It was always bittersweet. He loved watching her lithe form and her gentle curves. He loved to see her raven black hair dance in the gentle breeze. He loved it when she drew her own hair back and tucked it behind her ear. He wanted to be the one touching her hair. He wanted to be the one who could hold her. He wanted to be the one who could kiss her. He wanted all of her.

"I only have to wait a little while longer," he thought. "Naraku promised me Kagome. He promised that I would have her forever."

Kagome was at the archery range at Tokyo University. She was leading the practice session for the archery club. Even though she was only a Freshman in college, her knack for the bow and arrow won her the top spot as team captain. She was helping some of her fellow students practice in preparation for the competitive meet that was going to start in less than an hour.

"Eri, notice the wind," said Kagome as she gestured to a flag at the end of the archery range that was gently swaying. "Do you see how the flag only occasionally flips open and the outer end hangs lower?"

"Err…yes," said Eri.

"That means the wind is about 10 km/hour. Now what direction is the flag pointing too?" asked Kagome.

Eri looked at the flag and the sky to note which compass direction that the flag was facing. "It seems to be facing, southeast," she said.

"Good," said Kagome as she gripped Eri's bow gently and started to push it up and to the northwest. "So that means that you need to point your bow in the opposite direction. And the stiffer the wind, the higher the bow must be pointed to hit your target. Remember that the arrow doesn't fly in a straight line, but in an arch."

Kagome stepped back after adjusting Eri's bow and winked at her. Eri smiled back at her, suddenly more confident that her arrow would strike the target. Eri pulled her arrow back against the bowstring--her finger pointing forward towards her target. Then she let the arrow loose. Pling. It curved upward slightly and started to trail towards the northwest until the wind gently maneuvered it back to lineup straight with the target. Whoosh. Pschu. The arrow hit the target right next to the bullseye.

"Yes!" screamed Eri in amazement. "I did it! Wow!"

Kagome only smiled as she moved on down the range to help someone else before she felt eyes on her and turned around to notice Hojo looking at her.

"Hojo!" she yelled happily. "Aren't you going to practice? You need to warm up before the event!"

Hojo walked up to Kagome and looked at the ring on her finger. "I…um…I just got your wedding invitation…," he said slowly as he scratched the back of his head.

Kagome looked up at him with beaming eyes and her brilliant smile. For a brief second Hojo was lost in her eyes. He wanted her to always look at him that way and he wanted her smile to always be directed at him.

"Umm…why Kagome? Why are you getting married? You're only 18 years-old and you're marrying someone you barely know…," he managed to let out.

Kagome's smile faded into a quizzical look. "When you have found the person you want to spend the rest of your life with Hojo, you just want to make it start as soon as possible."

"But why him?" asked Hojo beseechingly as he held his hands out in front of him. "You just met the guy recently. What if he's not the one for you? Shouldn't you wait?"

Kagome looked at him and spoke in measured tones like a teacher trying to explain a difficult concept to a student. "I know that we met recently, but it feels like I have known him all of my life. In fact, it feels like I knew him before…in a past life…I can't explain it in rational terms Hojo, but he is the man for me and I can't wait to spend my life with him."

Hojo gulped and looked down at Kagome. His eyes had a deep sadness to them. "He better treat you right, Kagome."

"He will Hojo. He's been protecting me," said Kagome with her large brown eyes looking up at him with inner warmth and happiness. "You will come to my wedding? Won't you Hojo? You've been my friend for so long. It would make me so happy if you were there." Then Kagome bent towards him conspiratorially, "Besides, Eri said that she wanted to sit next to you at the wedding…"

"Eri?" murmured Hojo.

Kagome just simply beamed a smile back at him and turned to help out the rest of the archery team. Hojo just stood there and watched her move from person to person. He watched her miniskirt flutter in the breeze and he listened to her laugh. He gripped his hands tightly. "Soon, Kagome…," he thought, "soon you will be mine and no one else's…"

* * *

"Grandma are you sure that this is how you wear it?" asked Kagome?

"Yes, I am certain," said Mrs. Higurashi as she adjusted the wedding kimono obi.

Kagome and her grandmother were trying on the wedding kimono that had finally arrived last week at the shrine. Kagome was wearing three layers of kimono's. Her first layer of kimono was a light cotton kimono. Layered on top of it was a thin white silk kimono and layered on top of that was a heavy white silk kimono patterned with gold thread. Around Kagome's waist Mrs. Higurashi was adjusting the obi that was also layered with four belts. The final belt was a white silk obi that Mrs. Higurashi was attempting to tie into an elaborate bow. After about ten minutes of fiddling with the obi Mrs, Higurashi seemed to be satisfied.

"Yes, that should do it," she said with satisfaction. "Now we need to work on your hair."

Kagome blew against her bangs as her grandmother motioned her to sit down. Mrs. Higurashi started to comb and style her hair. Soon it was piled up on top of her head in an elaborate coiffure. Finally an ivory comb was placed on the top of her head. "This is the same ivory comb that I wore on my wedding day," said Mrs. Higurashi. "It should bring you good luck." After putting the ivory comb on her hair, a white silk hat was put on top of her elaborate hairdo. The hat was to symbolically hide the two hornlike combs that were placed on either side of her hairdo.

"There," said Mrs. Higurashi. "You are almost ready for taking some pictures. Is there anything I have forgotten. Oh…," she said as she picked up a very old looking ivory tube with two white tassels hanging off of the end. It contained a knife that was about 20 cms long called a 'kaiken'. "You are supposed to tuck this inside of your obi."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Grandma! This is ridiculous. What modern woman woud wear a 'kaiken' anymore?"

"It's just tradition, dear, nothing more," said Mrs. Higurashi. "No one expects you to commit suicide with it."

Kagome laughed and tucked the knife into her obi. It was extremely ornamental with its tassled ends and it actually looked quite decorative. But she couldn't quite get past the fact that it was once used for bride's to commit ritual suicide if they dishonored their husband.

Mrs. Higurashi then did some final adjustments to the girl's kimono. She tucked the kimono into the obi and straightened out the hem. "Dear, you are truly lovely…," she said while smiling.

Kagome turned around to look at herself in the mirror. "I feel like I am dressed up for the feudal era," she said with a laugh. "I am sure that Inuyasha might find this as funny as I do."

Mrs. Higurashi motioned to Kagome and the door. "Are you ready for your photos?"

Kagome took a deep breath and walked out of her room and towards the Goshinboku tree outside of her house. Inuyasha was already waiting. At first she only saw his back. He was wearing black and white pleated hakama pants and a black haori overcoat that had a silver image of the shrine's Goshinboku tree emblazoned on the back. His silver hair was long and loose. A silk bandana was at the top of his head. Inuyasha could have worn his concealment ring for the wedding ceremony and their wedding pictures. But she really wanted to marry him just as he was with his silver hair and golden eyes. He had tried to protest the arrangement, but she would have none of it.

Inuyasha was tapping his sock and geta clad feet on the ground around the Goshinboku tree. A photographer was already there with his large black digital camera. Silver umbrellas had already been positioned in various areas to let the sunshine light up the area in front of the tree.

"Inuyasha-kun!" said Kagome as she walked on up to him shuffling her feet. She wasn't able to move as fast as she wanted to since the kimono was tied so tightly around her waist.

Inuyasha stopped tapping his feet and turned around quickly. Kagome noticed his long hair rustling in the breeze as his head jerked toward her. Suddenly his scowl changed into a look of bemusement. "Oi…," he said as he started to scratch the back of his head. "You look lovely Kagome…"

"And you look so gorgeous," Kagome giggled. "We're dressed like we're living in the Edo period."

"Yes, like when we were last…"

"…married," finished Kagome with a smile as she kissed him on the cheek. For some reason Inuyasha's cheeks started to bloom into pink as he took her hand and lead her toward the photographer.

The photographer smiled at the couple, though he did seem a little perplexed when he looked at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha sighed and stated, "Keh. She loves it when I bleach my hair and wear gold contacts," he said while shrugging.

Then photographer nodded in amazement, but said nothing as he started to set up the shot. After all with kids dying their hair electric blue or cotton candy pink, silver was actually rather blasé. He motioned to two stools that were placed in front of the Goshinboku tree and adjusted their knees and titled their heads until the photo was just right.

After two long hours of taking photos Kagome and Inuyasha were beat. "Let's get out of these stiff clothes and go out to lunch," said Kagome as the photographer was packing up his equipment.

"Only if we can go to a ramen shop," said Inuyasha with a grin.

"Only if we can have Oden next time," added Kagome.

"Oi wench…," he said as he lead her back to the Higurashi home to change back into modern clothes.

* * *

After a late Ramen lunch and a walk through a nearby park, Inuyasha and Kagome had made it back to the shrine grounds.

"I didn't realize how late it was," said Kagome with a smile on her face as she gazed at Inuyasha.

The sun was setting and the night was cool as Inuyasha looked up at the deep blue sky. "There's no moon out tonight," he said.

"Oh," said Kagome in surprise. "I forgot that the new moon would be tonight and that you would be turning…"

"…human again," sighed Inuyasha as he gazed at her in frustration.

"No need to be upset," said Kagome. "Besides like I said before... It's like I get two men all in one gorgeous package."

"Oh is that it?" asked Inuyasha as he put his hands on her hips and looked at her nose to nose.

Kagome looked up at him and grinned. "Yes. Tonight I'll get my gorgeous black haired, violet-eyed lover. And tomorrow I get my silver haired, golden-eyed lover with the cute puppy ears. What more could a woman ask for?" she asked coyly. "But, you might have a difficult time making it up to my room tonight Inuyasha."

"Keh. Where there's a will, there's a way," smirked Inuyasha. "Why don't you throw down a bedsheet? You can tie it to your bedposts."

"Are you serious Inuyasha?" asked Kagome with a smile still on her face.

"Very," he answered huskily as he kissed her. "I'll be back in one hour…wait for me," he said as he kissed her again. He held her hands and lingered against her. Soon the long grey shadows lengthened until the light in the air dissipated and the grey darkness of the night settled over the shrine. Kagome looked at Inuyasha as his silver hair faded to grey and then to black. His dog-like ears that had been covered by the bandanna melted down the sides of his face to form perfect human ears. His eyes refocused and gold became hazel and then violet.

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha as if in a trance. "Wow!" she said. "It never ceases to amaze me when I see you transform."

Inuyasha grinned. Then he took up one of her hands for a kiss before he walked away from her front door.

"Oh, Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaimed. "You forgot something!"

"Forgot what?" he asked perplexed.

Kagome ran back to the hallway inside of her house and picked up a rectangular black box. "You need to wear this by your side tonight," she said as she pulled out a long katana from the box. "Your Tessaiga won't work tonight, so you need to have this sacred sword by your side."

"Alright, alright!" he grimaced as he tucked the long katana on the other side of his hip. The Tessaiga was on his left hip and the new sword was on his right. He turned to give her another smirk and then kissed her one more time before he left and walked down the steps after the Torii gates.

Kagome sighed and walked toward the Higurashi household. There was something about the night of the new moon that made her a little uneasy. They had always been so worried during the feudal era that Naraku would find out that Inuyasha had turned human during the night of the new moon. But luckily he had never found out. There was really nothing to worry about she thought as she walked back into her house.

She made her way to her bedroom and smirked as she pulled off her pink bedsheets. She decided that she would be prepared to help Inuyasha make his way to her bedroom window. Then she made her way to her desk to ostensibly study when her cell phone started to ring. It was an unlisted number, but the caller ID showed that it was a local call from the Toyko area.

"Moshi, moshi," said Kagome absentmindedly.

"Kagome!" a boy yelled on the phone.

"Hojo?" asked Kagome.

"Kagome they have me, they…," yelled Hojo.

"Hojo, where…?"

"Ku ku ku…," laughed a man with a deep voice. Kagome knew that voice from anywhere.

"Naraku, what are you up to?" asked Kagome with disdain.

"You are to come outside of the Torii gates of your shrine within two minutes or I will kill Hojo," said Naraku before the phone went dead.

Kagome was panicking but she was doing her best to stay calm. She quickly pocketed her pink cell phone, grabbed her bow and quiver of arrows and even grabbed her wedding 'kaiken' knife that she stuffed inside of her skirt's waistband.

As she started to run out the door she quickly flipped open her cell phone to call Inuyasha. "Please answer the phone!" she thought. Soon she was confronted with ringing and then a sexy masculine voice, answered, "Miss me already, koi?"

"Inuyasha! It's Naraku. He has Hojo! I'm leaving to meet him at the Torii gates of my shrine. Use the GPS to locate me. My cell phone has a GPS on it," said Kagome as quickly as she could.

"What! Kagome! You can't leave the shrine at night! I forbid it! Wait for me!" screamed out Inuyasha.

"They'll kill him in one more minute if I don't show up. I love you, Inuaysha. See you soon," she said breathlessly as she ran. She then flipped the cell phone shut and set it to vibrate before stuffing the slim cell phone into her bra. She felt it vibrating against her skin as she ran downstairs. She wasn't going to answer it though. Inuyasha would just need to get here soon.

"Dad!" she called as she was bounding out the door. "Get the GPS unit that maps where my cell phone is! Inuyasha will need it!" she yelled.

"What Kagome?" asked Souta as he heard the front door close. "What was that about?" asked Souta as he looked up at his mother from behind his newspaper.

Mrs. Higurashi looked at him perplexed before she stuttered, "Where is that girl going? It's dark outside!"

"The demons!" yelled Souta in sudden understanding.

"No!" cried Mrs. Higurashi as she brought her hand to her mouth in horror. "What is that girl trying to do? She'll get hurt."

Both Souta in his traditional shrine attire and Mrs. Higurashi in her apron quickly stood up trying to follow Kagome out of the shrine. They were less than a minute behind her.

Kagome was soon at the shrine's Torii gates looking down to the steep steps. There at the bottom of the steps was Naraku holding a knife against Hojo's throat.

"Kagome, run away!" murmured Hojo with the knife forcibly against his throat.

Naraku pressed the knife harder against his throat and a thin red line started to drip with blood against the blade. "Come down here immediately or those will be his last words!"

Kagome started to walk forward down the steps. Her steps were slow and forced.

"Quicker!" yelled Naraku as he pressed the blade against Hojo's throat again. Hojo blanched and muttered a guttural groan that made Kagome's feet start to speed up.

Once she was at the base of the steps she got out her bow and arrow in order to level it at Naraku. Almost immediately she felt the coldness of the air and her breath started to mist in front of her. A wave of pure evil washed over her and she had to force her holy aura to surround her in order to stave it off. Soon black shadow-like shapes were emerging to crawl around Naraku.

"Let him go Naraku!" Kagome yelled. "He's not part of this!"

"Ku ku ku," he laughed. "You have no idea? Do you?" he spat.

While Kagome was distracted arms reached around from behind her and a cloth was brought up against her mouth and nose. Kagome was struggling and still had one arrow notched in her bow. Kagome felt herself weaken and her arms were growing slack. "Only one last shot," she thought.

With a final burst of energy one arrow flew loose. A sacred arrow of pink flames shot off and crashed into a horde of shadowy shapes to the left of Naraku. The dark shapes withered and died at the onslaught of the intensely pure light.

Kagome tried to push against the arms behind her before she slumped to the ground.

"Kagura!" yelled out Naraku in anger. "Your foolishness nearly purified me!"

"Sorry, brother," droned Kagura lazily as she dropped the chloroform cloth and Kagome's body to the ground.

Naraku then let Hojo loose with a note of disgust. "Pick her up and bring her with us to the restaurant basement," he ordered. Hojo gingerly walked up to Kagome and gently picked her up bridal style. Her head was titlted back and her body was limp. Some of her arrows fell from her quiver as he lifted her.

"Noooo!" Souta yelled as he got to the Torii gates. "Unhand her! Let her go!" Hojo quickly turned to see Kagome's Dad rushing down to stop him.

"Is that you Hojo?" yelled Mrs. Higurashi as she also bounded down the steps.

Then Naraku motioned for them to follow him as he took to the dark sky. Kagura rolled her eyes at Hojo with a look of disgust that marred her otherwise perfect features. Then she pulled a feather from her hair and flicked it onto the ground where it grew until it was the size of a boat. Kagura stepped in and motioned Hojo to follow her. Hojo moved inside of the large feather with Kagome carefully ensconced in his arms. Then the boat-sized feather flew up like the wind to follow after Naraku. Souta and Mrs. Higurashi could only stare as Kagome soon faded into the blackness of the night.

_**Next Chapter:**__ Kagome's kidnapped. What is Naraku planning? Can Inuyasha save her in time? Read and review if you'd like the next chapter sooner…_

**Special Thanks to Theleb K'aarna who was my Beta for this chapter.**

_**New Contest:**__ I'm going to introduce another canon Inuyasha villain in the next chapter. Can you guess who it is? Only one guess per review! The winner gets to see the next unedited chapter before anyone else._

_**Author's Notes:**_

_#1: Sorry for the cliffhanger. We're now entering the final arch of this story. I don't know exactly how many more chapters there will be. But I can tell you that this is the beginning of the end._

_#2: I just changed the title of this Fanfict to "Future Incarnations: Inuyasha 2030" rather than Inuyasha 2030. I always thought that Inuyasha 2030 was a silly title, even though it fit the storyline pretty well. I still have Inuyasha 2030 appended to the end so that you can still find it if you're doing a search. Hopefully no one will mind the title change._

_#3: In a traditional Japanese wedding the bride is supposed to tuck an ornamental knife, called a 'kaiken', into her obi. The knife is supposed to be used to commit ritual suicide if she should ever dishonor her husband._

_#4: I have two more excellent Fanficts to recommend. BlackMamba07's "Mirrors" is an excellent Inuyasha reincarnation story and BlackMambao7 also has a wonderfully bittersweet short story called, "Osuwari". Check them out--you won't be disappointed._

_#5: If you haven't already checked out what is happening with the Rumiko's 'Inuyasha' manga, you owe it to yourself to find out. Do a Google search for "One Manga"and check out the online translated manga. The manga is actually ending! I don't want to give too much away, but if you have read 'Silly Human Mating Rituals' and Chapter 3 of this fict then you know a little bit of what has been happening. Start with Chapter 531where they start their final fight with Naraku and keep on going. It looks like there will be 3-13 more chapters left! It's excellent stuff!_

_**Special thanks to the following reviewers:**_

_Theleb K'aarna: Glad you liked the family reunion scene and the sex scene. It does take a while to warm up to writing lemons. I think I'm finally getting the hang of it though, listening to music while writing them helps._

_Sofiakalaughable & Devil Rebel: Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad that you liked it._

_JarethsCrystallineDream: I'll have to get a copy of Kikyo's theme. Thanks for the head's up. I'm glad that you like my fanficts and again thank you so much for reviewing._

_Blackdeathmessenger: Write an Inu/Kag story please! Pretty please? I'm not biased or anything am I? :-_


	18. Chapter 18: In Demonic Hands

**Chapter 18: In Demonic Hands**

_There are some swear words in this chapter. Please don't read if that offends you._

* * *

Inuyasha needed to while away the time until he could visit Kagome at the shrine. He figured that it would be about an hour before her father and grandmother went to bed. In the meantime he decided to play one of his favorite all immersive video games at one of the downtown Tokyo arcades.

He plunked in his debit card into the arcade game and then walked into the booth for 'Final Fantasy XXXIII: The Clone of Sephiroth'. The booth itself looked like an old-fashioned 20th century phone booth, however when you walked inside a three-dimensional hologram displayed itself all around him. The illusion was completely immersive. Suddenly a scene formed before his eyes as a computer generated scene of green plains and a beautiful blue running river filled his vision. He felt the breeze of the scene brush on past him and could even smell the cleanness of the air and the subtle smell of grass. Ahead of him something was approaching low to the horizon. A blue-winged dragon was flying toward him. A large glowing sword appeared in his hand and he was momentarily disoriented. He forgot himself and tried to unsheathe his real Tessaiga instead of using his virtual sword.

"Oops," he thought. However, he realized that since he was in human form, even if he had yelled out a "Kaze no Kuno" the Tessaiga still wouldn't cause any damage. Tonight was his human night and the Tessaiga was asleep. He could use the new 'sacred sword' that Kagome had given him tonight, but he figured it was just a waste of time and money. He would make extra sure that Kagome never left her shrine while he was fully human. The pit of his stomach heaved slightly at the thought and he took it out by swinging the virtual sword at the dragon that had landed right next to him. He even jumped and the virtual figure he was impersonating jumped as well. As he sliced he noticed how the virtual sword looked like his fully transformed Tessaiga. He smiled to himself and thought, "This is going to be fun!" With several leaps and slices the Dragon that had appeared on screen fell to the ground and disappeared as 1,000 points leapt up from the dragon's body and added themselves to his score.

"Take that!" he yelled as he held his stance and prepared for the next monster to appear. Just as a group of mindflayers started to wander across the screen he heard his cell phone ring and Kagome's characteristic ring tone started to play. "I want to change the world…" jingled from his cell phone.

"Damn," he yelled as he pressed a button to pause the virtual game. Though he was a little upset to have his game interrupted, he was happy to know that Kagome was thinking about him.

He tried to make his voice sound as smooth and sexy as possible, "Miss me already, koi?"

He wasn't prepared for Kagome's panicked voice on the other end of the cell line, "Inuyasha! It's Naraku. He has Hojo! I'm leaving to meet him at the Torii gates of my shrine. Use the GPS to locate me. My cell phone has a GPS on it."

Her panicked voice gave rise to his own panic and his heart started to race. "What! Kagome! You can't leave the shrine at night! I forbid it! Wait for me!" he yelled.

Her voice lost an edge to her panic as she continued. "They'll kill him in one more minute if I don't show up. I love you, Inuyasha. See you soon." He heard her cell phone click shut.

"Dammit!" he screamed as ran out of the virtual game booth. He was about to leap out of the arcade onto the nearest building so that he could get to her home as fast as possible. Then it hit him that he was a normal human tonight. No special abilities, no extra strength, no ability to leap from building to building, no special healing abilities, no increased sense of smell or sight. "I'm a fucking, normal human," he thought. "Shit!" he yelled as he ran down the streets of downtown Tokyo and tried to call Kagome on her cell phone again and again. Her phone only rang, she wasn't answering…

"Damn!" he yelled again as the human masses on the streets of Tokyo looked at the youth with long black hair, hakama pants and two swords strapped to his side. The crowds naturally parted as the young man came barreling down the sidewalks. As he ran he thought that there were probably only a few people who could help him right now. He grimaced as he talked to his cell phone, "Call Sesshomaru", he intoned as the phone started to ring in his ear.

* * *

Inuyasha was panicking and breathing heavily when he finally made it to the steps of the Higurashi Sunset Shrine five minutes later. He looked up the steps to see Mrs. Higurashi crying into her apron under the Torii gates.

"Higurashi-san," he said breathlessly. "Where is Kagome? What happened?"

Mrs. Higurashi sobbed and then stood up next to Inuyasha. She put a single wrinkled hand up against his chest. "You need to find Kagome, Inuyasha! You need to get her! She's been kidnapped."

"What happened? She mentioned Naraku had kidnapped Hojo," he asked. It was hard for him to maintain his composure when his senses were in 'fight or flight' mode.

"Hojo kidnapped?" asked Mrs. Higurashi in confusion. "No, Hojo was the one carrying Kagome away. He was the kidnapper."

"Hojo kidnapped Kagome?!" Inuyasha murmured in sudden confusion.

Mrs. Higurashi continued, "But he was also with some beings that looked demonic. There was a man with red eyes, long black hair and something that looked like tentacles coming from his back. Then there was another woman with red glowing eyes and she made a huge feather expand in front of us. Hojo and the woman with demon eyes took Kagome away into the sky."

"What direction?" asked Inuyasha. Mrs. Higurashi tried to compose herself before pointing eastward into the sky.

"Damn. I have to wait for Sesshomaru to help track her. Kagome mentioned a GPS? She has a receiver on her cell phone?" asked Inuyasha.

"Yes, we bought her one of those cell phone's with a GPS transmitter on it so that we could always find out where she was. Souta is getting the coordinates now," added Mrs.Higurashi.

Inuyasha was suddenly grateful for modern technology and for their paranoid foresight. They had always been overly protective of Kagome and it had riled him in the past. Now he only felt grateful.

"I have it! Inuyasha!" yelled Souta who was bounding toward them with a thin laptop in his hands. "I've already punched in the codes for Kagome's cell phone. As long as she keeps it with her we can find out where she is." Souta brought out a laptop that was almost as thin as aluminum foil and pointed to the screen which had a map of Tokyo laid out. Inuyasha noticed a red triangular blip that was making it's way across the screen.

"Shit! How fast are they going?" he asked as he noticed the triangle rocketing towards the east.

"They appear to be moving at about 100 km/hour," answered Souta. "They must still be airborne. Ummm...why aren't you going after them now Inuyasha? And why is your hair so black?"

Inuyasha sighed, "Of all of the nights to strike Naraku choose tonight. He must have known. This is my night of weakness Souta. The night I am human."

"Oh Kami!" said Mrs. Higurashi in a sob. "He planned it well didn't he?"

"Inuyasha! Higurashi-san, Higurashi-sama!" yelled a voice.

Inuyasha turned to see Miroku and Sango bounding out of a car and running up the steps of the shrine.

"Thank the Kamis you are here," said Inuyasha. "We have to wait for only one person now."

"Who would that be?" asked Sango with her sais and a sword strapped to her side.

"I think that would be me," responded an icy voice.

Mrs. Higurashi gasped as she first caught sight of the demon lord in all of his unconcealed grandeur. Icy golden eyes glared down at her and she felt a need to step back. He looked like royalty and it was not just because of his appearance. His very bearing, the very way he stood screamed that he was an aristocrat and certainly not someone to be toyed with. He stood tall and regal in his elaborate kimono and his long, flowing, silver hair. His impassive face bore a crescent moon on his forehead and purple stripes along his cheeks. On his chest was spiked armor and around his waist was a long yellow and purple obi. Then between his folded arms was something that looked like a yellow and black striped kitten.

Mrs. Higurashi looked up at the demon's stoic eyes. Even though she felt that she needed to fear him, the desire to beg him to help her daughter was stronger. "Please save my daughter, Kagome, please," she begged.

The demon lord nodded and then turned to Inuyasha. "Son, do you know where Kagome went to?"

"Son?" asked Mrs. Higurashi and Souta in unison.

The demon let out a small chuckle as Inuyasha pointed to the laptop computer screen. "Eastward. She has a GPS homing device on her. We can follow it."

The demon lord bent down and put the kitten on the ground. "Kira transform!" he commanded. Suddenly the small kitten changed into a ferocious tiger-like cat with fangs and fire that sprang from her paws. "You two," he ordered as he pointed to Miroku and Sango. "You can ride Kira."

Miroku gulped and Sango simply walked over to Kira in awe. They both started to mount the beast and were soon seated properly on its back.

"Humph. Get on," he ordered to Inuyasha.

"Get on?" asked Inuyasha.

The demon lord grabbed Inuyasha and held him unceremoniously by his juban collar. "You can grab onto this pelt," he said as he flung the long pelt behind him.

Inuyasha almost didn't grab the pelt in time as the demon lord took to the sky in a mist of clouds.

The sight was rather bizarre to see a man in a formal kimono flying away into the sky while Inuyasha was dangling behind him clutching onto his white pelt. And then to add to the bizarre image, Sango and Miroku were following with wide eyes as a fiery demonic cat took to the sky after the demon lord.

"She'll be OK, mother," said Souta. "Inuyasha will make sure she's alright. He always rescues her…"

Mrs. Higurashi took a deep breath. "Yes, Souta…please bring her back to us, Inuyasha," she asked to the night air. Then Souta put an arm around his mother and directed her back to their shrine to wait.

* * *

On the eastern side of Tokyo Kagura landed with her two charges next to an abandoned building. They were in the warehouse district near the ports of Tokyo Bay. "In there," directed Kagura as she pointed to the dilapidated building.

Hojo stepped away from the large feather that had carried them across Tokyo with Kagome in his hands. She was feather-light in his arms. Hojo could only assume that his half-demon powers had given him extra strength. He looked down at the girl nestled against him. The moonlight was shining down on her making her face and hair glow with ethereal beauty. Her long black eyelashes were like shadows on her eyelids and her perfect rose-like lips looked infinitely kissable.

"Kagome," he murmured as he brushed one finger against her cheek and then moved his finger down to trace an "O" against her slightly parted lips. "I've always loved you Kagome, always." He leaned against her to kiss her gently on the lips. The kiss seemed to have no effect as Kagome laid there limply in his arms.

Kagura humphed as she spoke, "Well, bring her into the building, Romeo."

Hojo was momentarily taken out of his reverie as Kagura gestured to a door that was hanging off of its hinges.

"Yes, you are right," murmured Hojo as he carried Kagome's body in bridal style. He walked past the broken door and into a dimly lit warehouse. It was large, cavernous and was strewn with broken parts and layers of dust. Parts of the ceiling had already caved in long ago and the only light you could see were beams of moonlight that fell from the sky, cascading down into the dusty interior.

Once Hojo's eyes adjusted to the interior of the warehouse he could make out Naraku standing in the corner near some very large writhing demonic shapes.

"What are those?" asked Hojo as he shrugged a shoulder towards the large shapes behind Naraku.

"Just the demons that I need to make the spell complete," said Naraku with a sly smile.

"Why do you need demons to cast a spell to make Kagome mine?" asked Hojo in confusion.

"Do you want to have Kagome and live forever by her side?" asked Naraku.

"Yes, of course," answered Hojo.

"Then do not ask me any questions and stand there next to the demons," said Naraku as he pointed at the writhing shapes behind him.

Hojo gulped and then steeled his resolve to do exactly as Naraku had ordered. As he approached the demonic shapes he was relived to see the slithering forms weren't attacking him, but their red and green glowing eyes were looked at him hungrily.

"Did you bring us sustenance?" asked one demon who slithered like a large worm with a cat-like face.

"A human girl. Delicious," intoned another demon that looked more like a squid, but with the gaping jaws of a spider.

"No you can't have her. She's mine," said Hojo defensively.

"You want the human girl?" questioned one demon.

"That's because he's a half-demon," added another demon shape.

"It's better to just eat the humans," said another demon. "They are quite tasty and there are too many humans around as it is. Just think of it as population control," said one as his mouth started to widen.

Hojo held Kagome to him with one hand and shoved his other hand out to block the imminent attack from the demon. He was surprised to see spider like thread erupting from his hand and encircling the demon in a tight vise.

"What?" asked Hojo as he stared at his own demonic hand.

"Enough!" screamed Naraku. "I need all of you in one piece for the spell to take effect"

"Yes, the spell," answered the worm-like demon. "The one to make us powerful and to live forever."

"No, that's not the spell," answered Hojo with a sense of dread that was forming in his guts. "He was to cast a spell that would give me Kagome forever."

Naraku laughed maliciously. "Ku ku ku, oh my spell will answer both of your wishes. You only need to wait."

"Wait? Wait for what?" asked Hojo suspiciously.

"He means that you must wait for me," answered a dark shape that slowly walked in through the broken doorway and entered the warehouse.

* * *

_**Next Chapter:**__ The new villain is revealed and Naraku's spell takes effect…_

_**Special Thanks to Theleb K'aarna who was my Beta for this chapter.**_

_**The Contest Continues:**_

_OK folks. The contest continues since no one has made the correct guess so far. The contest is to guess who the next canon villain will be in this story. So it's not Kanna. I know, Kagura showed up so everyone was expecting Kanna. Well, let's see…I'll put little 10-year-old albino Kanna in an orphanage. She'll grow up, dye her hair cotton candy pink and join a rock band called 'Naraku's Minions' as the bass player. There you go! Kanna gets a happy ending! :-)_

_Umm…so where was I? Yes, the contest continues. If you can guess the next canon villain who will show up you get the next unedited chapter before everyone else. Only one guess per reviewer please…_

_**Author's Notes:**_

_#1: Inuyasha has finally ended! The manga just ended with chapter 558! I don't want to spoil the ending for you, but please go and read it for yourself. Do a Google search for One Manga and look up the last chapter. Sob! Sob! The manga is now all over! And yes, they have plans to start more Inuyasha anime now that the manga is complete.  
_

_#2: As I mentioned earlier, this story is entering its final arch. I don't know how many more chapters I will write, but we're getting closer to the end._

_**Special thanks to the following reviewers:**_

_Sofiakalaughable: Ah, sorry. No Kikyo in this story. Kagome and Kikyo's soul are the same in this story._

_Blackdeathmessenger: I know, everyone thought it was going to be Kanna. But no, it's someone else. Care to try another guess?If you can't come up with a story idea, I can help you brainstorm._

_Tsukihime nee: No sorry, no Kanna. Try another guess. I'm glad that you like the story though._

_Inulover4ever: I'm glad that you like the twists. I was just letting one thing fall naturtally after the next. I guess it helped that I hadn't read any other reincarnation stories before I started to write this one._


	19. Chapter 19: The Poison Imp Spell

**Chapter 19: The Poison Imp Spell**

_**Last Chapter:**_

_Naraku laughed maliciously. "Ku ku ku, oh my spell will answer both of your wishes. You only need to wait."_

_"Wait? Wait for what?" asked Hojo suspiciously._

_"He means that you must wait for me," answered a dark shape that slowly walked in through the broken doorway and entered the warehouse._

Hojo turned to see a feminine shape walking into the abandoned warehouse. Lights from the pier streamed in behind her, making her form dark against the ambient light. The old street lights revealed enough that he could see long white hair and a long black dress. As she walked forward he could see her face come more into relief and he could see her high forehead and a widow's peak. She looked like she was a young woman, however he could tell by the reptilian scar around one eye that she was indeed possessed by a demon. Perhaps she was suffering from his same fate. Not quite human, not quite demon--just some sort of ugly shade of grey between the two.

"My name is Tsubaki," the woman added with a gleam in her eye. "And who do you hold in your arms?"

Hojo gripped Kagome like she was a precious gift that might be stolen from him. He shifted his body so that it would be harder for Tsubaki to look at her.

Tsubaki's eyes widened. "The miko is Kik-yo! You have Kikyo?! And she looks so young! How can she still be so young! I sold my soul to be young forever. Did Kikyo sell her soul as well?" said Tsubaki as she walked up to Kagome.

"I don't know what you are talking about," said Hojo. "And her name is Kagome! I don't know who this Kikyo person is."

"Ah! My mistake," said Tsubaki as she noted the face of the young girl. "She's her reincarnation is she not, Naraku? What an appropriate miko to use in the spell."

Naraku's steady and impassive glare didn't reveal anything. "I don't know who this Kikyo is that you are referring to Tsubaki. Is she an old enemy of yours?"

Tsubaki spat. "Yes, an old rival and I must say that I am surprised that you don't recognize her yourself. After everything that she meant to you…"

Naraku's eye's widened. "You know then... Why does this girl seem familiar? Why do I feel drawn to her?"

Tsubaki only laughed wickedly. "Now that would only be telling my dear Naraku."

Naraku's eyes narrowed and he shot out a tentacle out to Tsubaki. "You will tell me Tsubaki," he yelled.

Tsubaki only laughed in merriment as his tentacle bounced off a barrier that surrounded her. "Naraku, you were defeated before and now you are reborn. While I have been living for over 500 years. You don't have nearly the power that I have now. Don't even think to tell me what to do. I am only helping you so that the jewel will come into existence again. And I think it is perfectly fitting that Kikyo's old soul be used as fodder for a new Shikon jewel."

Hojo grabbed Kagome, "What do you mean her old soul. You can't take Kagome's soul. It belongs to me. I'll protect her…"

Tsubaki laughed even more and then started to chant a low melodic rhythm. Hojo couldn't understand the words, since they seemed to be in a foreign tongue. But he felt evil washing over him and the hair on his skin was raised in goosebump fashion. He started to panic. He needed to get out of here and he needed to take Kagome with him. His new demonic powers allowed him to move quickly and silently with almost inhuman speed. He threw Kagome over his shoulders and attempted to run and jump out of the warehouse. He needed to get away from Tsubaki and Naraku. As he made his first leap he ran into a barrier that sent shockwaves of pain through his body. It pulsed like electrical currents as he hit the barrier surrounding him and the demons.

Tsubaki only laughed wickedly as he cursed her. "You can't get through it, you know. Once the barrier is set in place and the spell takes effect—all parties are stuck inside the barrier until there is but one survivor."

"One survivor? What are you talking about?" asked Hojo.

"I have enacted the Poison Imp Spell. A spell that sets demons against demon until only one remains," answered Tsubaki.

"Why are you doing this?"

Naraku was the one to laugh now. "To create a Shikon Jewel, the jewel of four souls. A shikon jewel requires the souls of demons, a half-demon and a miko. Within this spell your souls will be merged into one and when that happens the shikon jewel will form."

"What is a shikon jewel?"

Tsubaki then continued. "A jewel of unlimited power. It can give a demon incredible power and can even grant a wish. But four souls must be sacrificed to make one. It's a pity that you all must be sacrificed. But I must say that it is fitting that Kikyo's reincarnation will be one of the missing ingredients for the new jewel."

"No!" yelled Hojo. Suddenly his body was hit to the side by one of the large wormlike demons that was also bound within the barrier. Kagome's unconscious body fell to the side like a rag doll from the tremendous force.

They were all feeling the call. There was a call for bloodlust that permeated the area. It called to their inner demon, asking them to destroy anything around them. Hojo felt a wave of nausea deep inside of him when he realized that the blood lust was also asking him to kill Kagome.

"No, not Kagome!" he yelled. He tried to quell the murderous intent deep within him by focusing it at the demon that had just attacked him. He screamed in rage and launched himself at the wormlike creature. He didn't notice, but during his attack spider-like fangs appeared on either side of his mouth and they dripped with venom. Soon he was latched onto a writhing, slithering beast and he bit down hard and deep into the scaly skin. The beast screamed and writhed underneath him as his fangs pumped in more and more venom into the creature. Soon the beast's panicked attempts to writhe shook him off and he landed on the floor near Kagome, almost hitting her.

"Kagome…?" he murmured as his abject pity and love for Kagome held off the murderous drive to kill that burned within his blood.

Kagome stirred next to him as he tried to gather her in his arms.

"Hojo?" she murmured sleepily. As Kagome woke up from the drug induced haze she noticed that Hojo was holding her. He looked strange, but her field of vision was blurry and she really couldn't make out his features very well. She felt wild magics around them and somehow that brought out a feeling of panic from deep within her.

She turned in a stupor to look at Hojo and then to look at a number of writhing beasts behind him that were fighting in a deathlike match.

"Hojo!" she screamed. It was only pure instinct when she shoved Hojo aside and grabbed her bow and notched an arrow. Her eyesight was hazy and she was still woozy, but a sacred arrow of pure light erupted from her bow and hit a demon. From the sounds she was hearing she could tell that she had hit the demon, but that it wasn't a direct hit. Whatever it was, it was still alive and writhing in pain. "Get behind me Hojo!" she yelled while grimacing. "I'll try to protect you."

"No Kagome, I will be the one protecting you!" said Hojo as he stood in front of Kagome and launched himself at another beast.

"No Hojo-kun, you can't possibly be able to fight them…you…," she wobbled a little as she stood there and noticed that he had made a very impressive leap onto the back of a large snake-like demon. It was almost like the leap that Inuyasha was able to make. "But Hojo couldn't leap like that," she thought. "Only a demon or half-demon could do that…" She looked at Hojo in confusion before pulling out another arrow and measuring out another shot. She made sure not to hit Hojo, so she tried for a beast that was already in a bloody melee with another beast. This time her aim was sure and her eyesight clearer. The pure blinding light of the sacred arrow hit home and the entire body of the wormlike demon with the face of a cat splintered away into nothingness.

She reached into her quiver and felt around for another arrow. There was only one more arrow left. Kagome shivered in terror. There were still two more large demons around her and she couldn't possibly take out both of them with one arrow.

* * *

Sango felt Kira's fur between her fingers and the rush of the wind in her hair. She was soaring near the clouds and underneath her was the glowing skyline of downtown Tokyo. She should have been scared or frightened. So why was she thrilled by the adrenaline rush that coursed through her? Why did it seem so familiar? Why did having Miroku's hands around her waist as she flew on this demonic cat seem entirely natural? She was born for this. She was born for flying high in the sky on her demonic stead and she was born to fight demons. She grinned, life could be strange—but she couldn't doubt how she felt.

She turned to see Miroku who seemed just as content riding behind her on this beast. "How are you holding up Miroku?" she asked.

"Ah, Sango darling? I'm holding onto a curvaceous woman and staring at her luscious backside. Do you even need to ask?" he said with a laugh in his voice.

Somewhere inside of her she wanted to hug him and hit him all at the same time. But her hands were currently gripping the demonic cat's fur and were otherwise occupied.

"Inuyasha. How far to Kagome?" asked Sango in an attempt to change the topic.

Inuyasha dangled onto Sesshomaru's pelt with one hand and was trying his best to hold the laptop with the other hand without dropping it. He was pulling the glowing laptop screen nearer to his face to discern the online map that pulsed on its surface. "She's about two kilometers away. It looks like they have landed near the eastern edge of Tokyo Bay. At least they are no longer moving," said Inuyasha.

"Who kidnapped her Inuyasha?" asked Miroku.

Inuyasha grimaced. "Hojo! Why the fuck is that asshole kidnapping Kagome? And of course Naraku and Kagura were involved as well," he answered.

"Naraku seems to have a predilection of twisting love into hate. Didn't you say that Hojo was always hanging around Kagome and giving her gifts?" asked Miroku.

"Oi," murmured Inuyasha as he still stared intently at the laptop screen. "I'm going to gut the bastard and Naraku when I see them."

Miroku answered in silence as the group made their way to the eastern shoreline.

"Over there," muttered Inuyasha as he pointed to some warehouses near the port of East Tokyo Bay. "The signal is from that building…"

The entire group started to descend from the dizzying heights. Cloud-like mist surrounded them as they lightly landed on the ground near an abandoned warehouse.

Inuyasha motioned for them to remain silent and then directed them on ahead before he closed up the laptop and set it down. He fingered his sacred sword in his hand as he walked on forward towards a broken door that had fallen halfway off of its hinges. Noises were coming from within the building and it sounded like a battle was going on.

Inuyasha crept in slowly with Sango and Sesshomaru by his side. Miroku grabbed his sword--which he had already unsheathed and walked next to Kira who was still following silently on her padded feet.

As the group walked through the door they noticed two large snake-like demons battling. One demon was fighting a man who was latched onto its back. And there amongst the battle was Kagome with her bow and arrow. She was ready to shoot and her arrow flamed up with pure white light as she steadied her aim and fired her bow.

Shoom. Pschu. The sacred arrow erupted in white flame and hurdled into the side of one of the demons. Once it hit the demon broke apart into a million different small shards of light before fading away into nothingness.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled as he ran forward recklessly and brought his sacred sword in front of him.

"Son!" yelled Sesshomaru. "You're human today, you can't…"

The commotion caused Naraku, Tsubaki and Kagura to turn around to see the new foes that they were facing.

Both Kagura and Naraku spoke at once in surprise, "Sesshomaru…?" They were apparently ignoring the crazy human boy who was yelling and trying to hit the barrier with a sword. However, facing a powerful, ancient demon lord was not what they had expected.

Tsubaki just laughed. "Oh, this is just too precious. I didn't plan for you to be here. But perhaps you can help me with my plans Lord Sesshomaru."

"This Sesshomaru doesn't help anyone but himself," answered the demon lord.

"Even if it's in your best interests?" asked Tsubaki. "Why are you here? Is it to finally put an end to the demonic sickness that has been enveloping Tokyo? You do know that it was Naraku who has been leading the demonic attacks in this city for the past three years? Shouldn't you do something about that?" Tsubaki looked at him with a sly smile on her face and then turned to look at Naraku whose eyes were narrowing in disgust.

Large tentacle-like appendages erupted from Naraku's body with Tsubaki as the target. As the tentacles got too close they hit a barrier and bounced away harmlessly.

"You think you can defeat me, Naraku?" questioned Tsubaki dryly. "Maybe 500 years ago you could have defeated me. But I have become more and more powerful over time. I have been collecting demons and making pacts with them over the centuries. I am now more powerful than you ever were! Kagura!"

Kagura held a fan in front of her glowing red eyes and then smirked as she called out, "Dance of Blades". White blade-like objects swarmed around her before flying at Naraku—effectively slicing off many of his tentacles and maiming his body.

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. He didn't like the thought of someone else manipulating him into battle, but he would have been attacking Naraku no matter what Tsubaki had said. The demon lord pulled his sword from its sheath and charged forward so fast that he was a blur.

"Bakusaiga!" he yelled.

While Sesshomaru was facing Naraku—Sango and Miroku were running after Inuyasha in order to help Kagome. When they arrived at Inuyasha's side they could make out a translucent barrier that he had been slicing his sword with.

"Come on!" Inuyasha screamed. "Give way dammit! Kagome's in there!" As Inuyasha sliced with his hold sword against the barrier you could see ripples of waves erupting from where he had hit. But nothing else would happen. The barrier was still in place.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha screamed. But Kagome was lost in thought or couldn't hear his screams from behind the barrier. Her quiver was empty. She reached into the waistband and pulled out a knife. Inuyasha recognized it as her 'kaiken' knife.

"No!" he murmured. It was her ceremonial suicide knife that she had worn while posing in her wedding kimono. Unlike her bow and arrow, Kagome would have to get within inches of her opponent to use the knife.

Kagome ran forward while Inuyasha stood by helplessly behind the barrier. He watched as her entire body lit up with purification power. Tendrils of white-pink energy erupted from her body and became focused on the small knife in her hand. Sparks flew from the knife and energy pulsed from her body as she ran forward, oblivious to the screams behind her.

Oh..a cliffhanger…sorry about that…

_**Next Chapter:** Naraku, Tsubaki, Kagura, Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Kagome and Hojo—all fighting in a battle over the shikon jewel. Who is going to live and who is going to die?_

_**Author's Notes:**_

_#1: There were lots of guesses as to who the new villain would be, but no one thought about Tsubaki. Bummer! In my story this is the original Tsubaki who has been living for over 500 years and who has a score to settle with Naraku. Luckily for Tsubaki, Naraku doesn't remember his past life and doesn't know that Tsubaki might want revenge._

_#2: Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out. Usually I have a new chapter out every week. I have been preoccupied with my next Inuyasha story (which I'm having a heck of a fun time with) and I have already written a chapter in that story. It was also a little harder than normal to write this chapter since it is mainly battle scenes. I'm much better at writing romance scenes. But don't worry--I'll finish this story. It looks like we have just 2 or 3 chapters left in this one._

_#3: Slight manga spoiler here (from Inuyasha Vol. 54)… Sesshomaru has two arms—not one and he's using the Bakusaiga sword that can rot away anything it cuts. It's the perfect weapon against Naraku._

_#4: Kagome still doesn't know that Hojo was involved in kidnapping her. She still thinks that he was captured because he knew her._

_#4: I have another great fanfict author to recommend. Check out Namiyo11—her stuff is wonderful. I really enjoyed two of her stories: "Kaori Kusari, Kokoro Kusari" and "Happy Ending Delayed: A Fairy Tale". Check them out!_

_**Special thanks to the following reviewers:**_

_Tsukihime nee: Sorry that you were stumped. But now you know who the new villain is. Yes, the story will be done. There isn't much left to write now._

_Blackdeathmessenger: Ah, good guess with Onigumo. Thanks for trying. I hope that your new story gets posted soon. Please send me a message when you do. I had fun brainstorming with you. It should be REALLY interesting!_

_Devil Rebel: Nope, sorry that it wasn't Onigumo. No one guessed that it was Tsubaki, I guess that she was too minor for people to guess. But she's one of the only villains that could have been alive over the past 500 years. So I thought that I would use her. Yes, I'll keep writing. This story is almost done._

_Njblackwolf: Good guess with Magatsuhi. Sorry…_

_Sofiakalaughable: Nope, not Hakudoshi the baby. Thanks for trying to guess though…_


	20. Chapter 20: Confrontations

**Chapter 20: Confrontations**

_Chapter Contents: Violence, death and swearing.  
But what else would you expect from a final battle?_

From the last chapter:

"_Kagome!" Inuyasha screamed. But Kagome was lost in thought or couldn't hear his screams from behind the barrier. Her quiver was empty. She reached into the waistband and pulled out a knife. Inuyasha recognized it as her 'kaiken' knife._

"_No!" he murmured. It was her ceremonial suicide knife that she had worn while posing in her wedding kimono. Unlike her bow and arrow, Kagome would have to get within inches of her opponent to use the knife._

_Kagome ran forward while Inuyasha stood by helplessly behind the barrier. He watched as her entire body lit up with purification power. Tendrils of white-pink energy erupted from her body and became focused on the small knife in her hand. Sparks flew from the knife and energy pulsed from her body as she ran forward, oblivious to the screams behind her._

* * *

Desperately Inuyasha lunged and sliced at the barrier that separated him from Kagome. Whacking at the barrier with his sword only sent rippling waves through the barrier.

Soon Miroku and Sango were at his side. "Help me!" yelled Inuyasha as he continued lunging and slicing. Sango started to help him slice at the barrier and Inuyasha was pleased to see that two holy swords were having a far greater affect than one. Perhaps with a third sword they could take the barrier down.

Inuyasha turned to look at Miroku who seemed to be contemplating, rather than fighting. "Dammit, Miroku. Use your sword and help us cut through the barrier. I need your help! Now!" yelled Inuyasha

"Wait a moment Inuyasha," said Miroku as he held out his hand in supplication.

"Not now, Miroku," growled Inuyasha.

"Please Inuyasha. I feel magic at work. There's an evil spell that is raging behind the barrier and I think it's a Poison Imp spell," said Miroku in even tones.

"A what?" yelled Inuyasha in frustration as he continued to hack at the barrier.

"The Poison Imp Spell that Naraku had used long ago to get demons to fight against each other. Do you remember that when one demon lost they merged with another until only one was left? We need to get Kagome out of there without being trapped by the spell," answered Miroku.

"Shit! Then hit the barrier with all you've got!" yelled Inuyasha as he led Sango and Miroku on a charge to slice the barrier. With each hit they felt the barrier weakening and sliding away. The ripples that erupted from their combined hits were no longer ripples, but large waves. Soon the barrier thinned before them and then flashed away in silence.

Inuyasha charged forward and made his way to Kagome. She was bathed in pure pink-white light and had already managed to stab a squid-like demon on its side with her small 'kaiken' knife. The demon howled in pain as the purification power leeched inside of its skin—destroying it from the inside out. As the demon writhed Kagome and her knife were flung aside. Kagome's body flew through the air hitting the ground hard a few meters away. She tried to get up, but her arms were unsteady and her eyes were unfocused. She didn't see another demon coming up behind her prepared to finish her with its long fangs.

"No!" screamed Inuyasha. He was running towards Kagome as quickly as he could, but his human legs simply weren't quick enough. There was only one non-human who had the speed to get to Kagome in time. Just as the beasts' huge fangs were about to snap around her--Hojo dived between them.

Kagome turned around just in time to see a huge wormlike demon with a dragon's head and fangs bite down hard on Hojo. If Hojo hadn't put his body between them it would have been Kagome instead. The demon clamped down on Hojo as he squirmed in the dragon's jaw. Hojo tried to return the fight by using his strength to open up the dragon-like mouth of the creature and managed to pull himself out. However, Kagome could see the huge gaping wounds all over his abdomen from where the huge fangs and venom had sunk in. Both blood and froth was oozing from all of his open wounds and she could see him winching in pain as he tried to fight off the demon.

"Kagome," Inuyasha yelled as he put himself between Kagome and the demon. "Get behind me!"

Kagome grabbed the glowing knife that had been embedded in the demon's writhing side and stood behind Inuyasha. She quickly pecked him on the cheek. "I knew you'd come!"

"You gave me a heart attack, bitch," snarled Inuyasha.

"I love you, too," answered Kagome with a smile.

"Keh," murmured Inuyasha and he couldn't help but to smirk back.

While Inuyasha protected Kagome Hojo lunged on the demon's back and used his spider-like thread to wrap his foe in layers of tangled skein. Soon the dragon's mouth was bound shut and Hojo simply fell onto the floor.

"It's a poison imp spell Kagome! The only thing that can disrupt the spell are holy attacks," yelled Miroku. "We need to use your spiritual power or the holy swords."

Kagome only nodded in acknowledgment. Then she stood behind Inuyasha grasping his arms and managed to channel her spiritual powers through him and into his holy sword. The purification energy she was pumping through him would have seriously injured him at any other time of the month, but today he was fully human and he was simply a conduit.

Suddenly Inuyasha felt the energy swirling about him, like he did before he sliced demonic energy with the wind scar. His long black hair rose up around him as if the wind was blowing up against him and an aura of intense white energy whirled around him. The energy churned and intensified until he unleashed it with a powerful wave of holy energy unlike anything he had felt before.

"Heavenly Wave!" he yelled and the sacred energy rose up to meet the last two remaining demons. The demonic bodies broke apart in splintering waves of holy power as they were turned to diamond dust that sparkled briefly before dissipating into the air.

As the demon's bodies disappeared Kagome rushed up to Hojo's bloody form. Inuyasha tried to hold her back with a snarl. "Don't touch him Kagome, he betrayed you!" Inuyasha yelled.

Kagome still went forward to gingerly kneel beside Hojo and looked at the huge gaping bite wounds that were all over his body. Worse still that each wound was festering as if acid was eating away at his flesh. Hojo coughed and more blood fell out of his mouth.

It was then that Kagome finally noticed the spiderlike fangs that had erupted from either side of his mouth and realized that Hojo was no longer entirely human.

"Hojo, what have you become?" she whispered in fear.

Hojo could only look up at her with dimming vision. "Kagome," he muttered. "I was dying in the chem lab. Naraku came to me and told me that if I did as he told me that I could have you forever. I shouldn't have trusted him. I'm sorry, Kagome."

"Hojo?" Kagome murmured.

"I always loved you," said Hojo with a sad, weary smile. "I'm sorry…so sorry," he added again as the light left his eyes which quickly became cloudy and emotionless.

"Hojo!" Kagome yelled. "What were you thinking? Why did you trust Naraku?" Kagome sobbed for a moment before she got up to reach unsteadily for Inuyasha who was scowling behind her.

Inuyasha simply gripped Kagome closer to him. "What the fuck were you thinking Kagome? He betrayed you."

Kagome just looked at Inuyasha with melancholy eyes. "Yes, he betrayed me. Just as you and Kikyo betrayed each other and it all happened because of Naraku. Pity him Inuyasha."

"Kagome," Inuyasha murmured. He held her tightly to him when he heard Tsubaki laugh and call out to them.

"I want the miko, give her up human!" she laughed.

* * *

**Moments before…**

_Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. He didn't like the thought of someone else manipulating him into battle, but he would have been attacking Naraku no matter what Tsubaki had said. The demon lord pulled his sword from its sheath and charged forward so fast that he was a blur._

_"Bakusaiga!" he yelled._

Kagura moved beside Sesshomaru almost gleefully as she unleashed another wave of flesh tearing wind blades. She seemed to laugh and relish the moment.

Sesshomaru took no pleasure in attacking Naraku. Just as he had done over 500 years earlier, he hit Naraku with the Bakusaiga blade. A blade that rotted away anything that it came in contact with. However Naraku didn't remember their last fight and was shockingly surprised when he found his body could not regenerate.

"What have you done? The sword it…?" questioned a panicking Naraku.

Sesshomaru merely raised an eyebrow as he spoke, "My sword destroys whatever it touches, you cannot regenerate what it has touched,"

Naraku shuddered. Kagura had betrayed him, though he thought wryly that perhaps it was something that he should have expected. And now Sesshomaru, one of the most feared of Japan's ancient demons was fighting him with a sword that could truly destroy him. Quickly Naraku shrugged off the parts of his body that had been cut by the Bakusaiga, much as an octopus will shear off a tentacle when in danger. As parts of Naraku fell aside purple-black miasma filled the air—but Naraku was chagrined to see that his noxious fumes affected neither Sesshomaru nor Kagura. He did grin to see that Tsubaki was affected and she pulled her sleeve up to cover her mouth before she incanted a spell. Tsubaki's aura expanded and enveloped the miasma until it dissipated into nothingness. Naraku frowned. He had hoped that at least his miasma would hurt her.

Sesshomaru moved and started to strike at Naraku again. The demon lord's body moved with incredible speed, so that he appeared to be a blur. Multiple strikes hit and dived deep into the inky blackness of the half-demon's body. Purple ichors erupted from each strike and the area under Naraku looked like spilt ink.

Naraku moaned as his flesh started to rot away while he still lived. He tried to stop the disintegration by shrugging off large sections of his body, but he couldn't stop the multiplying decay.

He lashed out a tentacle at both Sesshomaru and Kagura as a final desperate act. The tentacle that tried to race toward Sesshomaru was quickly hewed off by a quick flick of the Bakusaiga blade. The one that he had sent to Kagura clamped down on her neck. She struggled against the choking pull as Naraku screamed.

"Betrayer! Sister! You will join me in hell!" yelled Naraku as he pulled her body closer to him as parts of his flesh rotted away before her eyes. Her eyes widened in horror as Naraku's very face started to rot and melt away with the oncoming decay.

Sesshomaru quickly moved to strike off the rubbery black tentacle wrapped around her neck. She fell to the ground choking, as her brother became a writhing mass of decomposing black flesh.

"It is finished," smiled Tsubaki evilly as she walked forward and kicked the black flesh that was bubbling on the ground in front of her. Then she turned and looked at the group of humans who had just struck down her barrier and who had defeated the demons within it. "I want the miko, give her up human!" Tsubaki laughed.

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. "What did you say priestess?"

Inuyasha quickly moved to shield Kagome with his body. He held his holy sword in front of him and pointed it at the evil priestess. Apparently, Tsubaki didn't think the human boy protecting Kagome was much of a threat, because she only addressed Sesshomaru.

"She is only a human, demon lord. Why would you want to protect her? Give her to me. I need her body and blood for the spell to make another shikon jewel. Join with me Sesshomaru and the jewel can give us ultimate power," said Tsubaki with great confidence.

Sesshomaru would only point his Bakusaiga directly at the Priestess's heart. "The miko is engaged to my son."

Tsubaki reddened and nearly choked as she looked at the clearly human male who was protecting the other miko.

"Then share her fate!" yelled Tsubaki as hordes of writhing demons erupted from her scaly eye. "Kagura! To me!"

Kagura stood in shock next to Tsubaki and hesitated for a brief moment. Then she looked questioningly at Sesshomaru before lifting her fan in front of her face.

Sesshomaru now stood next to Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango and the demon cat Kira.

Hundreds of large demonic creatures continued to erupt from her eye as Kagura struck down her fan and yelled, "Dance of Blades!" The shining white blades spewed forth from her fan and quickly centered on the dark priestess next to her. Tsubaki hadn't expected Kagura's betrayal, but the barrier deflected Kagura's incoming blades.

"You dare!" screamed Tsubaki. "You dare to betray me!" Tsubaki waved her arm and hordes of demons flew against Kagura trying to kill her.

"I control the wind Tsubaki!" yelled Kagura as a tempest erupted in the middle of the warehouse. Hurricane force winds blew and buffeted the building and any windows that had not already been broken shattered into thousands of glass shards.

Inuyasha had placed himself firmly in front of Kagome and was trying to fend off the many demons swirling in the hurricane force winds. His holy sword managed to slice and destroy a few demons, but there were hundreds of them and he was only a human tonight. On the other side of Kagome, Miroku and Sango were also attacking with their holy swords with almost as much success as the human hanyou who stood beside them. Still it was hard to stand, and even harder to grip the sword, while the winds whipped around them distorting their vision.

Kagome revved up her spiritual power and once more became a glowing mass of pure pink-white energy. Tendrils of her power floated up against her body like a tesla coil and any demon that had the misfortune of brushing against her aura was instantly fried into a million pieces of light.

Sesshomaru coldly and calmly fought against the horde of demons that surrounded him. His Bakusaiga sword severed each demon neatly leaving them writhing on the floor as their bodies rotted away.

While her opponents were distracted Tsubaki moved toward the other miko. Once she was within a few meters she sent a group of demons to shove Kagome aside. Each demon exploded in turn upon contacting the young miko, but they had the desired effect of separating her from her three protectors.

"Now!" screamed Tsubaki and a barrier flew up around Kagome and Tsubaki.

"Nooooo!" yelled Inuyasha as he tried to strike at the barrier that separated him from Kagome. The barrier didn't budge. "Miroku, Sango! I need your help. Help me take down this barrier as well!"

With demons attacking on every side Miroku and Sango tried to slice at the barrier together with Inuyasha while trying to defend their backs. They were only able to strike together three times before Miroku and Sango had to return to the battlefield and defend their backs and Inuyasha's as well.

Inuyasha was screaming in a panic as he lunged again and again at the barrier. It wasn't breaking. "No," yelled Inuyasha in desperation as he put his hands up against the barrier and peered inside.

Within the barrier Kagome's aura was still shifting and coiling around her body. Pure white-pink spiritual power massed around her and he noticed that she still held her kaiken knife in front of her preparing to strike Tsubaki. As she watched in horror masses of demons erupted from Tsubaki's demonic eye once more. Soon the entire barrier was filled with snakelike demons that slithered on top of each other. Each creature was trying to get closer and closer to Kagome, but once they hit her aura they would disintegrate.

"How much longer can you last little miko?" asked Tsubaki as the snakes swarmed around them. "You can't keep up that power level forever. Soon your powers will fade, as you get tired. But I will be here waiting. I only need one snake to bite you again. Then I'll control your mind and you will do as I wish."

"Never!" screamed Kagome as she focused her holy power on her kaiken knife and lunged at Tsubaki.

Sesshomaru moved up next to Inuyasha. "You and your companions need to get out of the way."

"What?" asked Inuyasha who was clearly focused on Kagome and wasn't even watching the hundreds of demons swirling around in the hurricane-like winds within the warehouse.

"Get behind me!" Sesshomaru yelled. "Kagura, Miroku, Sango, Kira—get behind me!"

Everyone soon complied except for Inuyasha who Sesshomaru quickly grabbed and shoved out of the way. The demon lord then looked up at the writhing mass of over a hundred demons in front of him. His lips curved in an ice-like smile that would have cowered a lesser demon.

"Bakusaiga Kaze no Kizu!" yelled Sesshomaru as a massive wave of energy erupted from his blade and spewed forth a tsunami of power that ripped the demons in front of him and the warehouse itself into shards of dust.

Darkness fell all around them as the dust started to settle. Soon a group of dust laden adventurers with a huge demonic cat by their side appeared from the dust clouds. Then two women could be seen in a translucent bubble that had a dusty layer on top. Even Bakusaiga's Wind Scar did not break the barrier that Tsubaki had created.

"We have to get inside that barrier," Inuyasha yelled as he struck with his sacred blade and motioned to his two companions to strike as well. Soon all three of them joined in the attempt to destroy the barrier, but unlike the last barrier around the Poison Imp Spell—this barrier was not weakening.

"Dammit!" screamed Inuyasha. "If I was only a hanyou tonight, then I could use the Red Barrier Breaker attack." Inuyasha still slashed at the barrier, refusing to give up even when the rest of the party knew that his attempts were hopeless.

Sesshomaru put a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. "Perhaps there is a way, son. The Tessaiga needs a half-demons power. Perhaps it could work if a demon and a human worked in concert?"

Inuyasha's face cleared of the panic that was gripping him and flickered with hope. "Perhaps," said Inuyasha as he brought out his Tessaiga blade and held it before him and motioned Sesshomaru to grip it as well. Sesshomaru sheathed his Bakusaiga and then gripped the Tessaiga as well. Sesshomaru tried to channel his demonic powers into the blade and Inuyasha simply tried to concentrate on having the sword transform into the barrier breaker.

For a brief moment no one spoke even as a spiritual battle raged within the barrier between Kagome and Tsubaki. The two dog demons concentrated together as they gripped the sword tightly. "Please," begged Inuyasha, "Please Tessaiga I call upon you to help me protect Kagome." Slowly the sword started to pulse and then it grew and glowed with an unnatural light. Soon it changed from white to a shimmering red color.

The father and son brought the sword down on the barrier and sliced it neatly in two. The barrier shook and then split, spilling a heap of slithering demonic snakes onto the floor.

Inuyasha wasted no time in grabbing Kagome and pulling her out of harms way. Then with a nod to Sesshomaru they brought the blade down almost directly in front of Tsubaki.

"No!" she cried as demonic energy filled the air.

"Kaze no Kizu!" yelled the demonic father and son as the blade fell down to the ground wrenching gapping holes in the concrete floor and obliterating everything in its path. Jagged white light filled the chamber before the nighttime's darkness reasserted itself. Nothing remained other than dust, a few charred corpses and a few stray beams that once held up the warehouse.

Kagura walked up to Sesshomaru with a look of pleading in her eyes. "Sesshomaru-sama," said Kagura in amazement. She looked deeply at the demon lord. "Lord," she said again. "You protected my child and you helped free me from my brother's abuse. I am forever in your debt," she said as she bowed low before him.

The demon lord only arched an eyebrow and paused. "There is no debt Kagura. I only want to be Rin's guardian."

"Yes, my lord, but," said Kagura.

Sesshomaru coldly ignored her and walked over to Inuyasha. "I will see you in a week's time. Kagura, please return my son and his fiancé to her shrine."

"But Sesshomaru-sama!" stammered Kagura as she moved toward Sesshomaru. Before she was able to touch his shoulder the demon lord had already taken to the sky and was flying away into the night in a cloudlike mist.

Kagome moved forward to Kagura. "Thank you Kagura-sama. Thank you for everything. You saved our lives and we are indebted to you."

Kagura sneered as she looked over at the motley crew. "I only did this for my daughter and for Sesshomaru. It was for him, only for him," she murmured sadly as she took a feather from her hair and threw it on the ground. Soon the feather expanded in size until it formed boat and she motioned for Kagome and Inuyasha to step inside. "I'll take you home," she said with a note of dejection in her voice. A moment later they were streaking through the sky.

Sango and Miroku followed them on the demonic cat. The group soared across the black night of the Tokyo sky and made their way to the Higurashi Sunset shrine.

* * *

_**Next Chapter**: An epilogue and a wedding of course…fluff and a lemon to follow…_

_I would like to say a big thank you to my Beta Theleb K'aarna who really helped make this chapter shine._

_**Author's Notes:**_

_#1: Oops! I killed off three major characters in this chapter. What a bloodbath! I was going to stretch this one out a little more, but I decided that it was time to finish off the story. Oh and this chapter was hard for me to write. I'm not an action writer. I thrive on romance. So luckily my beta, husband and all around excellent game master, Theleb K'aarna, really helped me to structure the fight scenes and to help with the pacing. Thanks a bunch, love!_

_#2: I realized that Tsubaki had entirely different outcomes depending on if you subscribed to the manga or the anime. I read the Inuyasha manga well before it ever became a TV series, so I am relying on the manga version of Tsubaki. According to the manga she was defeated, but she lived on cursed never to die. It is that Tsubaki who is in my story. In the anime she morphed into an ogre and was killed. Pretend you never saw that episode…!_

_#3: If you actually read the last chapter of the Inuyasha manga (do a Google search for 'One Manga' to read it) then you know something was lacking. As to what it was all I can say is that "Yesterday's Tomorrow" by Knitting Knots is just what you need. So check out her story if you have read Chapter 558 of Inuyasha. You won't be disappointed!_

_#4: My next Inuyasha fanfict (Inu/Kag always) actually has a few chapters completed so far. I'll wait until this story is finished before I post my new one. It's currently entitled 'A Grudging Loss'. I'll post a summary with the last chapter of this fict. If you are interested in my next story then add me to your 'Author Alerts' list._

_#5: The Naraku in my story isn't as powerful as the canon Naraku. My character is simply a reincarnation who has not put as much time and energy into his 'upgrades'. I also like the idea of karma coming back to bite him._

_#6: I think it was a little unclear, but if you read Chapter 15 you find out that Kagura wants revenge on Naraku. It is hinted that Naraku has been raping Kagura and that is why she let Sesshomaru adopt Rin. Since Kagura knows that Tsubaki is working with Naraku, they two plot together behind Naraku's back. This all happens behind the scenes._

_**Special thanks to the following reviewers:**_

_Devil Rebel: Well, you were in good company. No one guessed her, but now looking back, I think that's because she died in the anime, while she lived on in the manga. The character I have in my story is from the manga. Yes, she's actually in both._

_Naptownbaby: Here's your update. Only one more chapter to go…_

_Sofiakalaughable: Hope you enjoyed it._

_Theleb K'aarna: Yep, you're probably right that Kagome shouldn't have had her bow and arrow. Though I did mention that she had her bow on her shoulder and a few arrows still left in her quiver after she was kidnapped. Whoops! Well, pretend that she just used her kaiken knife for all of this._

_Blackdeathmessenger: Send me your next chapter whenever you want me to Beta. I don't check my e-mail everyday, so give me time to edit._

_Tsukihime nee: Have a great Summer!_


	21. Chapter 21: A Wedding and a Funeral

**A Wedding and a Funeral**

* * *

_Lemon alert in the third section and watch out for the fluff. :-)_

* * *

_Hojo's Funeral_

Kagome was wearing a black and purple kimono with a black and gold obi as she stood before an altar. She moved forward and knelt before an urn which had a small wooden placard in front that was labeled 'Hojo, Akitoki'. Incense had already been burning in front of the urn and a steady meandering stream of smoke floated toward the ceiling. Kagome pinched some green powder that lay next to the burning incense and then carefully added it to the small smoldering pile. Then she bowed to the urn and wrapped the Buddhist prayer beads around her hands that were clasped together in prayer.

Her eyes were closed as she prayed to the Kami's for Hojo's soul to pass through the three hells and into heaven. She hoped that his final moments would atone for any wrong doings that he had done.

After she added more incense and bowed two more times she stood up to meet Hojo's mother and father who were standing off to the side. They were both dressed formally in black kimonos. Kagome walked up to Hojo's mother and bowed respectfully to her. As Kagome straightened she noticed that his mother had Hojo's brown hair and her deep brown sorrowful eyes looked just like Hojo's. For a brief moment Kagome thought she was looking into Hojo's eyes.

"Mrs. Hojo," murmured Kagome as she looked into his mother's eyes. "He died saving me. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Hojo-kun."

Hojo's mother bowed back and softly said, "They said there were multiple stab wounds on his body…" and the mother couldn't help but let her eyes water.

"Hai, they were about to stab me in the back, but Hojo moved between us and he was…" Kagome couldn't finish as she looked into his mother's teary eyes. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Hojo. I will be eternally grateful for him."

"He talked about you all the time," said his mother.

Kagome looked at Hojo's mother's eyes with sadness as she murmured, "He did?"

"Yes, I think that he loved you very much," added Hojo's Mom. Both Kagome and Hojo's mother had tears falling from their eyes as the mother moved forward to embrace the young girl. "Please live for my son." Then she paused to hand Kagome a small gift. "Here is your funeral gift. It was actually something that he had picked out for you about a few weeks ago from his father's herbal remedy store."

Kagome grasped the small wrapped gift and gave Hojo's mother a soft smile as they parted.

Kagome walked away and was met by Inuyasha who was wearing a formal black haori coat and grey hakama pants. He was wearing a grey bandanna to cover his ears and he was growling.

"Inuyasha-kun," scolded Kagome in a whisper. "It isn't polite to be growling at a funeral."

"Damn traitor is still trying to give you gifts, even when he's dead!" said Inuyasha under his breath.

Kagome turned to place her small hand on Inuyasha's cheek. "The poor boy is dead and he died so that I could live. We owe him a soft spot in our hearts for what he did."

Inuyasha winced as he was forced to remember a time when he wasn't able to save Kagome and another boy had given his life in his place. "OK. But only your heart is soft enough to forgive any soul."

"It always was and will be," added Kagome as she kissed Inuyasha's cheek. Then she moved her small hand into his larger calloused hand and smiled. "We should be going Inuyasha. We have a wedding to prepare for."

"Keh," was all he could manage as he looked at his miko as they walked hand in hand away from Hojo's funeral.

* * *

_Shinto Wedding_

Inuyasha could only roll his eyes as his adopted mother and Miroku helped him dress. He had already put on his black kimono and his grey striped hakama pants. He held out his arms parallel to the ground as they put his black haori overcoat on him and then brushed off any lint that they found.

His mother then brushed his silver hair into a long ponytail that fell behind him. She hummed as if she was pleased when she was done. His furry white ears flitted from side as she put a light-grey bandanna over them.

"Inuyasha-kun, you never told me why you have these dog ears again. How did it happen?" asked his mother.

Miroku stopped rolling the lint remover over Inuyasha's garments and paused as well. "I've been wondering myself," added Miroku.

Inuyasha sighed and picked up his Tessaiga and handed it to his Mom for inspection. "I don't know how to fully explain all of this Mom. But I can tell you that I was here before."

His mother winked her deep brown eyes, "We have all been here before, Inuyasha."

"Yes, of course," added Inuyasha hurriedly. "But this sword is something that I owned in my past life. When its magic became activated, I was able to remember my past life and I also gained these," said Inuyasha as he motioned to the ears that were now hidden under a bandanna.

"It must be very strange for Kagome to see your dog-ears, Inuyasha," said his mother with a smile. "I suppose it must be love…" she said as her voice trailed off.

"Actually, Kagome can't get her hands off of his ears," added Miroku with a smirk.

Inuyasha blanched and his face grew deep red at the implication.

"Oh, poo!" added their mother as she playfully slapped Miroku across his face. However, unlike Sango there was no red mark left behind—it was all in jest. "You are as bad as your father, Miroku. I swear you get all of your bizarre behavior from him!"

"I can't help it! It's genetic," added Miroku with a smile.

"Keep telling that to yourself dear," added Mrs. Moroboshi. Then she turned in her royal blue kimono with gold trim and looked at Inuyasha with appraising eyes. She adjusted his haori overcoat again and traced the white symbols on the front of his jacket. "These are the symbols of the Moroboshi Temple, Inuyasha. But now you will be living here at the Higurashi shrine and leaving your parents home. That is why we placed the symbol of the Sunset Shrine on the back of your haori."

Inuyasha glanced back to see a stylized white symbol emblazoned on his black haori of the Goshinboku tree.

"Keh. It's perfect, Mom," said Inuyasha with a true smile. His face was still red, but the blush was starting to fade.

"Good, you look very handsome Inuyasha," said Mrs. Moroboshi as she kissed him on the cheek. "Kagome is a lucky woman to have you."

"No, Inuyasha is lucky Kagome can stand him," added Miroku with a smirk.

"Why you!" yelled Inuyasha as he bounded off after Miroku in an attempt to hit him on the head. As they bounded off out of the room Mrs. Moroboshi could only roll her eyes as she adjusted her silk kimono and held her purse to her side. "Boys! Will they ever learn?" she asked to herself as she trailed off after her two sons.

Inuyasha and Miroku were bounding down the hall and suddenly ran right into the bride's party. Miroku was the first to slam into Sango. Inuyasha was not able to stop himself and slammed directly into Miroku.

"Inuyasha!" yelled Kagome. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Inuyasha winced. She had never "SAT" him on purpose in this lifetime. He was lucky that as the years had passed in their past life that she had only used the spell when it was an accident or if his demon blood got out of control. But he had the sneaking suspicion that this was actually an occasion when he might deserve it.

He slowly opened his eyes and glanced at the miko who was standing in the hallway before him. His eyes widened as he looked at her. She was gorgeous.

She was wearing a white silk and gold kimono, with her 'lucky' kaiken knife tucked into her kimono with its white tassels hanging down. Her hair was drawn up in an elaborate traditional hairstyle that held gold combs and accessories. Her deep umber brown eyes looked directly at him in subdued anger and her cheeks flared with a pink brilliance. He looked at her perfectly formed pink lips and her long swan-like neck. She was angry with him, but she was also very lovely.

He moved toward her and motioned Sango and Miroku to move out of the way.

"You look beautiful Kagome, just like a princess," he said while he reached for her hands and drew them to him. Suddenly Kagome's anger subsided and was replaced with a bashful blush. Inuyasha bent down and kissed her on the lips before Sango intervened.

"Stop that right now, you two!" yelled Sango as she moved between the bride and groom. "None of that until after the wedding!"

Kagome just looked up at Inuyasha as if she was lost as he pulled away from her and smirked. "Yes, after the wedding," he said huskily. Kagome's blush became several shades darker and most of the members of the wedding party also started to blush at the implied comment.

Miroku grabbed Inuyasha and pulled him aside. "I'll get him lined up with the groom's side of the family for the procession. Sango, will you get the bride's side of the family organized?"

"Hai!" answered Sango as she started to motion the wedding party families to line up. The bride and groom were in front. The groom was on the right and the bride on the left. Their parents were behind them and then any other relatives trailed behind them. Soon Inuyasha spotted Sesshomaru who stood with his adopted parents behind him along with little Rin. Rin was an adorable dark haired pre-teen with wide brown eyes who seemed to worship every step that Sesshomaru took. Inuyasha could only shake his head in silence. "I'll never know what Mom saw in him," he thought as he turned around and faced forward.

One miko from the Sunset shrine positioned herself in front of Inuyasha and Kagome, while another miko held a large red paper umbrella that was held over the couple. The red color symbolized prosperity in their marriage.

Inuyasha was not supposed to hold his bride's hand as the wedding procession started to wind its way through the shrine and past the Goshinboku tree to where the outdoor wedding ceremony would take place. "Screw custom!" he thought as he reached for Kagome's hand and smiled down at her as they walked together. She looked up at him shyly with a smile and blushed. She only had eyes for Inuyasha as they walked together towards the outdoor altar that was setup for them to say their vows and to drink the sacramental sake.

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_Honeymoon on the Big Island of Hawaii, Mauna Kea Mountain_

The Sun was starting to set over the Mauna Kea astronomical observatory that sat on the top of the dormant volcano. Kagome looked ahead and was mesmerized by how high they had traveled. As she walked around and looked at the horizon she could see the clouds drifting under the 4,200meter summit! The Sun was setting in its entire splendor. Brilliant yellows erupted in the sky followed by fiery orange that shifted into red and hazed into purple and then to a deep blue. Soon the velvet blue shifted into inky black and the diamond-like stars started to sprinkle them along the mass of the sky. As Kagome looked up she could see the Milky Way glowing along the center swath of the sky. She had never seen the Milky Way shifting before her in sparkling whites before this night. In downtown Tokyo the constant light pollution of the skyline all but obscured the brightest stars.

"Wow! Inuyasha, look at that!" she murmured as she pointed to the horizon and four stars that appeared there.

"Keh! What am I looking at?" asked Inuyasha in annoyance.

"It's the Southern Cross, Inuyasha! It's amazing."

"What is so amazing about the Southern Cross, Kagome?"

"First of all you can't even see the Southern Cross in Japan. It's the constellation that marks the South Pole. See if you look at the four stars and mentally draw a crossline between the stars, you get a cross shape," explained Kagome as she pointed and drew imaginary lines in the air as she pointed at the constellation on the horizon.

"OK. And?" said Inuyasha in unimpressed tones.

Kagome blew at her bangs in exasperation. "The middle of the cross is the south pole. That is how ancient mariners could find their way using the Southern Cross as a guideline, just as people in the Northern Hemisphere use the North Pole. You normally have to travel to Australia to see this constellation. But here we are at Hawaii and we can see it! Not only is it visible for a few months during the year from this location—you can also only see it right at sunset. We're lucky to see it," said Kagome with her usual enthusiasm.

"Keh," murmured Inuyasha as he leaned against the jeep they had rented and drew Kagome into his arms as they looked up at the darkening sky. They stood there together looking up at the night sky in silence as more and more stars started to flit and emerge in the growing darkness. Kagome started to shiver. She had been wearing a bikini, shorts and a sweatshirt. But she didn't realize how cold it would be at the high summit. The day had been warm and humid. But now that the sun had set and they were so far up above the clouds—the chill started to creep inside of her skin. Inuyasha held her more firmly and started to stroke her arms in an attempt to warm her up.

"If you seem so adamant about seeing stars tonight, I figure that I can help you out and perhaps I can warm you up as well," said Inuyasha with a smirk.

"What are you planning, In-u-ya-sha?" asked Kagome with a note of suspicion.

"Oh. I'm just trying to be helpful, Kagome and besides we are married," added Inuyasha. "And you are here to see the stars, right?"

Kagome knew where this was leading, but decided to play innocent. "And exactly how are you going to accomplish this Inuyasha?" she asked with a knowing smile.

Inuyasha continued to rub her arms and then started kissing her neck. Soon his mouth made its way leisurely up to her ear and started to nibble on it. Kagome's eyes started to close as she moaned softly.

"Do you have any idea what you are doing to me dog-boy?"

"Keh," was all he replied as he continued his delightful torment.

Kagome was starting to feel a little lightheaded. She didn't know if it was because she was thousands of meters above sea level and had 40 percent less oxygen than normal to breathe or that it was Inuyasha's attentions that were causing her to feel faint. She found that she really didn't care as she turned around in his arms and faced him. She moved her hands up against the smooth planes of his chest and then tip toed to stand up to kiss him languidly on his lips. Her hands managed to find their way under his red T-shirt and snaked their way up his chest. She caressed him under the thin cotton fabric and gently tweaked a nipple that puckered under her fingertips and the cool mountain air.

Inuyasha moved his hands under the back of her sweatshirt and gently moved them up until he ran into the strings of her bikini top. While he kissed her--his fingers were tugging at the strings and soon the bikini top was untied. While her undergarment was freed his hand now snaked around to the front of her chest and cupped a breast before moving his fingers over each warm globe.

"Inuyasha," murmured Kagome breathlessly between kisses. "Don't you think we should continue this elsewhere?"

"Where?" asked Inuyasha as he continued to knead her breasts and felt her nipples harden under his touch.

"The hotel," said Kagome as Inuyasha started to kiss down her neck. "Oh, that feels good…"

"No, that is two hours away," added Inuyasha as he started to maneuver her sweatshirt off of her.

"Then where?" asked Kagome.

Inuyasha smirked as he held Kagome with one hand and then opened the door to the jeep rental with his other hand. With the slightest of pauses he managed to get both him and Kagome inside the jeep and onto the front passenger seat. Inuyasha sat down on the chair and Kagome was sitting on his lap. He continued to kiss her and massaged a breast with one hand while his other hand fumbled to find the seat recliner.

"Umpf," was all he heard out of Kagome as the passenger seat lurched backward nearly perpendicular with the ground. Soon both Inuyasha and Kagome were lying on the front seat as if it was a small cot that they were sharing.

Inuyasha finished taking off Kagome's sweatshirt between kisses and she managed to take off his T-shirt with relish. Soon Kagome was nipping at the 'V' indentation in his neck and kissed her way down his chest while she managed to grab the sides of his swim trunks and shoved them off and down to his ankles. Inuyasha could only manage to kick the trunks off one of his legs. The discarded and forgotten trunks still lay on the ground wrapped around a leg while his fingers slid under the sides of her shorts and bikini bottom before he pulled them down. Soon bare flesh was sandwiched on top of bare flesh in the front seat of the jeep.

Kagome's arm encircled Inuyasha's neck and her other arm touched the warm hard planes of his chest. They were still kissing and Inuyasha's hand crept down her back and then massaged and squeezed her firm bottom.

Kagome felt a warm hardness form under her wetness. Inuyasha lifted her bottom with one hand and with Kagome's help slid his hardness directly into her warmth.

"Oh, I've been wanted to do this all day, wench," he added in bliss. "Your damn bikini leaves little to the imagination."

"Are you complaining, Inuyasha?" she asked as she kissed and nibbled his furry ears while she shoved her bottom downward against his hard shaft.

"Oh Fuck, No," said Inuyasha as he felt her velvety, warm wetness engulf him. "Damn wench…"

Kagome smiled as she sat up on top of him, perpendicular to his body and rocked against his hardness. She lifted her bottom up and then shoved it down hard on him as he gasped in pleasure. Then she started to slow down the pace as she traced circles over his chest. His eyes lit up in the blackness of the cars interior. Golden eyes and the shimmering color of silver were the only things she could see in the darkness.

She bucked against him and kissed his lips. Then she took his hand and had his fingers touch the nub at the front of her wet opening. "Rub me, " she gasped as she took his hand and showed him the small circular motion she wanted him to do as her firm bottom rocked up and down against him.

Inuyasha complied as his demon's eyes took in Kagome's body that was drifting into ecstasy. He could see a red blush enveloping her entire body from her cheeks to her breasts and then the heat traveled down to her black curls. Her eyes were closed and she was moaning. As her body rocked she started to gasp and then to yell until an ear splitting scream called out his name as he felt her insides quiver and gush warm fluid against him.

Her body was like a rag doll on top of him. As she went through the throws of her orgasm--Inuyasha took over by grabbing her bottom and lifting her up and them slamming her down again and again on him. Inuyasha's head spun in ecstasy and he gave up trying to control his body and simply let the waves of pleasure fill him. "Ka-go-me," was all he could manage to gasp as he let loose inside of her.

He gingerly moved his hands up her back and then pulled her down on top of him. Her head was cradled in his chest and she felt limp to his touch.

"Well, did you see stars?" he asked lazily as he stroked her hair.

"Ummmm, stars," she murmured. "Yes, stars I saw lots of stars." She managed to use her elbows to prop herself up and looked deep into his amber eyes. "I need to take you on more stargazing expeditions," she said with a laugh.

Inuyasha looked into her deep brown pools and laughed with good humor as he kissed her again. Their naked bodies were entwined against each other in the reclined seat of the jeep and they both turned while embracing to look out at the expanse of stars that were scattered across the heavens.

Kagome's fingertips touched the glass window that was in front of them. Her finger left hot trails against the cool glass. "We should have another 300 years together. Do you think we'll ever live among the stars Inuyasha?"

"Anything is possible Kagome," he added while he hugged her smaller frame. "You never know what the future may bring. But as long as I have you…"

Kagome smiled lazily against his warm, sweaty chest. "Yes, as long as I have you, Inuyasha. This life or the next." She smiled again and then felt a warm hardness form under her again.

"Inuyasha!" she exclaimed.

"What?" he asked in mock surprise. "What do you expect? All those weeks when I had blue balls every day and then I almost lost you. I need to make up for lost time," he said as he maneuvered her around and placed her firmly on top of him.

She only smiled and laughed at the lustful hanyou under her. "I love you, Inuyasha."

"I love you too, Kagome, always…" was all he said as they started to make love again under the starry expanse of sky that crested over the Hawaiian mountain.

**_The End_**

_Wow! This story was 171 single-spaced pages!  
I hope that you enjoyed it. If you did, please leave me a review._

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_**Author's Notes:**_

_#1: 'Everytime We Touch' by Cascada was running on my iPod while I wrote the lemon for this chapter._

_#2: The Funeral is Buddhist and the Wedding is Shinto. It took me a while to understand Japanese religions, but after traveling to Japan I found that the Japanese citizen really doesn't consider the two different religions as being separate. Kagome's family has a Shinto Shrine, so her wedding would be Shinto._

_#3: Yes, you actually give out small gifts at a Japanese funeral (and besides what else would Hojo do?!)._

_#4: Hojo is a family name, so I gave him a first name of 'Akitoki'. That was the name of Hojo's ancestor in the Inuyasha anime._

_#5: I have seen two Japanese Weddings at Shinto shrines in Japan. One was at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo and the other was at a shrine in Nikko. I could only observe and no one explained the nuances to me, so my apologies if I don't get everything correct._

_#6: I minored in Astronomy (my major was English Lit of course). I have been to a few observatories including Mauna Kea. It is 13,796 feet (4,200 m) above sea level and you do feel a little light-headed if you run around or engage in any strenuous activities. Hee hee…_

_#7:I have Inuyasha and Kagome honeymoon in Hawaii since that place is overrun with Japanese tourists. (There were more Japanese tourists there than American tourists!) I saw a few Japanese weddings at Hawaii as well._

_#8: More Fanficts to recommend: The Phoenix Blade: Time Lapse by Fenikkusuken (86 awesome chapters!) and The King's Mistress by dolphingirl0113. Both are exceptionally good! For those of you who want a Kagura/Sesshomaru pairing (along with Inu/Kags of course) please check out "Dog Skin" by sublimetrickster. It's wonderfully written!_

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_**Next Story**: I've already started on my next InuYasha fanfict '**A Grudging Loss'** and I have already posted it online. Just click on the 'Ai Kisugi' link at the top of this chapter to find it. And I will promise that just like my last two stories—it will be completed. It's an AU story set in the present day and here is the summary…_

**_A Grudging Loss_**

_Summary: AU. A little Inuyasha, a little Romeo and Juliet, some rival college sports and a struggling rock band all make up the facets of this college age romance. Inuyasha and Kagome are famous college sports players from rival teams. They find themselves drawn to each other while at the same time circumstances pull them apart. Inu/Kag, Some M/S_

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_**Special Thanks to the Following Reviewers:**_

_blackdeathmessenger__: Thanks for sending me your story to Beta. I'm sure that Sweet Leaf will be great!_

_AnimeKG__: Wow! You are now officially my most avid reviewer. Thanks for all of your reviews for my stories. Now to answer your questions:_

_I have Kagome (in the anime) leaving to the Feudal Era from 1997-98. She stays behind and then lives with Inuyasha for 300 years. They end up having 12 kids and lots of grandchildren/great-grandchildren. Both Kagome and Inuyasha die sometime in the 1800's. Then they are both reborn in 2012 and Kagome is now Souta's daughter. In my story Inuyasha does not reincarnate during the 1997-98 time period since that would conflict with the wish he made on the Shikon jewel. Remember that he wished to live with Kagome forever (this lifetime and the next). So nothing was going to happen that would interfere with that. _

_Why are Miroku and Sango there as well? I read up on reincarnation before writing this story. One of the central themes in reincarnation (besides karma) is that you reincarnate in groups—you travel together. People you knew in one lifetime become people you know in the next. So it made sense for Miroku and Sango to be there again._

_Why the same names? Sorry about that. Really they shouldn't have the same names except for Kagome and Inuyasha. I hope that I gave realistic reasons for their names being used again. I only used the other characters names again so that readers would know who they were._

_Sesshomaru is the same demon as he was in the Inuyasha series. Demons can live virtually forever. So he is NOT a reincarnation and has all of his memories intact._

_Why did Rin go through 7 reincarnations? Well, Sesshy didn't want to mate with her and have kids. They did everything else, but THAT. So she was never given his lifespan. Now she is hanyou and will live 300 years. But I have the feeling that Sesshy will finally give in and mate with her. That way she won't have to reincarnate again. Yes, their kids would be 3/4 demon._

_Why is Hitomi still alive? She mated with Kyou (a full blooded demon) and now she shares his lifespan._

_Devil Rebel__: I hope you enjoyed the conclusion._

_sofiakalaughable__: I'm glad that you found it touching. Poor Kagura. I wanted her to get back into contact with the father of her child. So maybe that will happen sometime soon for her. Too bad that Sesshy in my story is already taken._

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_Thanks for coming along for the ride! You guys really did affect and change my story as it was being written. Kagura was only here because Kovia asked. And I had more Inuyasha/Kagome scenes because you all asked for it! So this really was a joint effort! Love you guys!_

_Ai Kisugi_


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